Local Orange County News

Southern California retailers face COVID-19 hurdles head-on this holiday season

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 08:34:08 +0000

As COVID-19 tightens its grip on the nation’s economy, Southern California retailers are bracing for a holiday shopping season plagued by product shortages, social distancing and lots of uncertainty.

“We’re hopeful, but like everyone else, we don’t know what to expect,” said Jeanie Viveros, who co-owns Tiddlywinks Toys & Games in Orange along with her husband, Gilbert. “It’s still that unknown that everybody is living with.”

Tiddlywinks, a fixture in Old Towne for eight years, specializes in classic-style toys, games and puzzles that range from Fischer Price’s See N Say and the Peek-A-Doodle-Doo memory game, to MAXI Dix scooters and Clean Water Science kits that offer education about the environment.

When the pandemic first shut down non-essential businesses in late winter, the Viveros had to get creative, a tactic they’ll repurpose for the holidays.

Michelle D'Amond says,"It was so cold last night I had to bring my dogs inside for the night." She delivers mail on the 10200 block of Amberville Lane in Tustin where a massive pine fell. No one was hurt, but a neighbor's Hyundai Accent, which he just finishing paying for last month, was damaged with scrapes, dents and a broken rear spoiler.
Two men carry Steve Robles, second from right, after he was bitten by a great white shark, as lifeguards close in at left in the ocean off Manhattan Beach on July 5.
A couple's dog was taken by Costa Mesa animal control officers after severely biting both of them Friday evening in Costa Mesa.
The Angels' Erick Aybar is out at second as the Royals' Alcides Escobar throws to first for the double play.

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“We were able to create custom Easter baskets this year, and we’re going to try to make some custom stockings for Christmas,” Viveros said.

Like many other retailers, Tiddlywinks will make appointments for those who are leery of crowds and will offer curbside pickup.

A recent survey from Deloitte shows nearly 51% of holiday shoppers feel anxious about in-store shopping amid the health crisis. Contactless shopping experiences are in demand, the survey said, with 73% planning to have items delivered versus 62% in 2019. Preference for curbside pickup has more than doubled.

Shoppers will be spending less

Additional reports show consumers won’t be reaching as deep into their pockets. JLL’s 2020 U.S. holiday survey shows the average holiday shopper will spend $695 this year, a 20% decline from last year. But e-commerce continues to ramp up, and it’s expected to capture one of out every five dollars spent in the U.S. this holiday season, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.

Black Friday’s boundaries have eroded in recent years as more and more retailers begin their sales earlier with many of the best deals offered online. Last year, with no pandemic, more Americans shopped online during Thanksgiving weekend than in physical stores, according to the National Retail Federation.

That trend will likely escalate, as 40 California counties — including Orange and Ventura — were bumped this week from the red tier back to the most restrictive purple tier amid spiking COVID-19 cases.

That leaves all of Southern California in the purple tier and it means retailers must limit indoor customer capacity to 25%.

“Our online sales have been way more than our walk-in business,” said Carmen Lopez, who manages the Tommy Austin Florist shop in Rancho Cucamonga. “People are trying to stay safe.”

Lopez said the pandemic has upended her business.

“It has changed,” she said. “We no longer cater to parties, weddings and stuff like that. And it’s almost all online. I think people have gotten used to that.”

Beck, second from right, and his band are bathed in moody lights during Sunday's concert.

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Shrinking inventories

The biggest problem facing the The Bicycle Stand in Long Beach is securing enough inventory.

“It’s been all hands on deck in terms of service because there’s been a surge in ridership during the pandemic,” shop owner Evan Whitener said. “But many of the bike manufacturers are relocating their factories from China to places like Vietnam, Bangladesh or the Philippines because of the U.S. tariffs. So now they have part of their operations in one place and part in another.”

That has strained the industry’s supply chain, resulting in delayed deliveries.

“Lately it’s been a struggle to get inventory,” Whitener said. “We get 10 to 20 phone calls a day asking for products and parts we can’t get. Almost everything I have coming in is already accounted for. For the last four months we’ve had virtually no bikes on our floor and it’s all been service. Even our used bikes are all tapped out.”

The shop is working to secure bikes from some of the industry’s more popular retailers in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Whitener said customers are lined up to get Linus bikes, a brand of comfortable, classic-inspired city bikes that are ideal for cruising around town.

“We’ll have some before Christmas,” he said. “They’re highly sought after.”

Riders of different ages showed up Sunday morning. The streets were open to pedestrians and bicyclists only from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Former IBF world boxing champion Daniel Geale of Australia, right, hopes to do better in his second fight in the U.S., against Gennady Golovkin. In August 2013, he suffered a split-decision loss to Darren Barker.

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Simply Discount Furniture in Santa Clarita is also struggling to boost its inventory.

“Things won’t be normal this year because all of the supply chains have been interrupted by COVID-19,” owner Don Garrison said. “But we projected that ahead of time, so we have a bit more inventory than some of our competitors.”

Ashley Industries, one of the store’s biggest and most reliable suppliers, has been hammered by the pandemic, he said.

“They have the worst inventory we’ve come across in 30 years,” Garrison said. “If we place an order today we won’t get it until March or April.”

COVID-19 fears

Simply Discount is also dealing with fears related to the health crisis.

“We’ve had three of our older employees retire,” Garrison said. “The COVID-19 pandemic pushed them over the edge, and we still have some sales guys who are scared to be around the public and have refused to come back to work.”

Many would agree their fears are justified, as recent figures show California now has more than 1 million reported cases of COVID-19.

Jim Swift, CEO of Cortera, a business data platform, said the pandemic has hit many industries hard while others have seen an increase in business.

“If you are an internet retailer you’re doing better because more people are buying online,” he said. “Home Depot and Lowe’s are also doing well because people aren’t traveling as much so they’re doing more home improvement projects.”

An October 2020 report from Cortera tracks business spending among a variety of industries. The top five winners and losers are shown below:

Winners

Professional/computer equipment wholesalers: +327%
Electronics and appliance stores: +55.0%
Non-store (internet) retailers: +33.9%
Building materials and garden supplies: +33.7%
Household appliances and electronics wholesalers: +33.4%

Losers

Accommodation: -47.1%
Oil and gas extraction: -35.4%
Air transportation: -32.9%
Building construction: -26.8%
Food services and drinking places: -25.1%

More than 50% of the nation’s industries posted spending below 2019 levels, the report said.

And the consumer mindset?

“Hunkered down,” Swift said. “The fact that we continue to see high levels of COVID-19 has fueled more work-from-home industries. The pandemic has changed our behavior — and it’s sticking.”

Orange County Sets Record for New COVID-19 Cases, Reports Outbreak at University

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 05:29:55 +0000

Orange County reported a record number of new coronavirus cases Monday, including an outbreak at Concordia University, along with a jump up in hospitalizations, causing some concern among local officials on how to get the message out to the public to discourage holiday get-togethers and other fraternizing.

The county reported 1,422 new COVID-19 diagnoses, raising the cumulative case total to 71,116, but the county did not report any new fatalities, leaving the death toll at 1,554.

The outbreak at Concordia University in Irvine, as of Saturday, involved 49 students and 16 on-campus employees who were waiting on confirmation through PCR tests.

The outbreak was discovered as students were tested prior to returning home for Thanksgiving break. The infections were picked up through antigen testing.

Those who tested positive are isolating on campus and 15 additional students who had close contact with them are quarantined as they all wait for confirmation of positive results. The large majority are asymptomatic prompting students to be extra careful as they wait for the test results to come back.

The university has canceled athletics practices until spring and Concordia will return to online learning only through the rest of the semester.

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The diagnoses did not all happen since Sunday, but are spread out over several days. The largest single-day case total so far this month came on Nov. 16, when 935 positive cases were recorded. The worst single-day total so far during the pandemic was on July 7, when 1,060 cases were recorded.

The number of county residents hospitalized with the coronavirus is on the upswing, increasing from 380 Sunday to 428 on Monday, with the number of patients in intensive care rising from 91 to 105, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

The change in the three-day average of hospitalized patients inched up from 24.6% to 26.4%. The county has 25% of its intensive care unit beds and 66% of its ventilators available.

The worst day for hospitalizations so far was July 14, when 722 people were hospitalized for COVID-19. The last time it was as high as it is now was in mid-August.

“It looks horrible,” Orange County CEO Frank Kim said of the most recent statistics. “I was dreading seeing a large number like that.”

But it’s a trend throughout Southern California, Kim noted.

“We saw San Bernardino County with numbers of cases in the two thousands,” Kim said. “It’s just really bad in Southern California. I just don’t think people are taking it seriously enough. It’s not a judgment. I don’t know how you get people to take it more seriously.”

Kim noted recent protests such as one in Huntington Beach on Saturday night about the state’s curfew order. About 400 people took part.

“I’ve seen a lot of protests, people participating in what appear to be less-than-essential services,” Kim said.

Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said she is concerned that crackdowns on business activity in other counties could have an impact on their neighbors.

“My concern is it’s like squeezing a bubble. You’re going to get more on the other end,” Bartlett said. “If you lock down restaurants to just takeout and delivery, then a lot of residents in border counties are going to go to restaurants in other counties. It’s problematic because then we have more people mixing together potentially and COVID-19 numbers could increase in those other counties.”

Bartlett is also concerned that closing businesses earlier could steer more people to gather together at home.

“They might gravitate to gather together at personal residences and that is a greater concern to me than gatherings at restaurants outdoors where things are sanitized and social distancing is in place.”

Bartlett added, “The current spread of COVID-19 is to a great extent the small to medium-sized gatherings in the non-business environment and it is very difficult to police. It has to be on a voluntary basis and the state has to do a better job educating the public at large, not just penalizing our business sector, which has already been hit so hard.”

Kim said the county is focusing on encouraging testing.

If residents insist on a Thanksgiving gathering, they need to consider a meal outdoors and keeping the number of the party as small as possible, he said.

“If you’re going to get together anyway, there’s a value in getting tested,” Kim said. “It’s a snapshot in time of how you’re doing, but you can’t get yourself tested and then run 20 different errands and show up to Thanksgiving. It defeats the whole purpose of how you’re managing all that, but the concept is test yourself more frequently, reduce the amount of activities outside your stable cohorts and after an event — if you’re going to have one — it wouldn’t be harmful to get a second test… But, obviously, the safest thing is to stay at home.”

Kim said the rising hospitalization numbers concern him.

“We went from 250 to 300 and now we’re up over 400, and our ICUs are still kind of low in comparison, so maybe the hospitals are getting better, but my sense of it is it’s a trailing indicator and in two weeks we might see a huge number of ICUs, so I’m concerned about it.”

Kim said he is in the third week of his own COVID-19 battle and has had his ups and downs.

“We have to beat the curve on this trend,”’ Kim said. “As somebody living through COVID-19, I don’t even know how to explain how terrible this disease is. I would never want to do this again in my entire life. It’s day 17 of symptoms and I’m just starting to turn the corner.”

The number of tests conducted in the county stood at 1,357,860, including 10,973 reported Monday. There have been 58,102 documented recoveries.

Orange County and most of California came under a state-mandated soft curfew Saturday night that bars nonessential activities, gatherings and business operations starting at 10 p.m. nightly.

The order announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office Thursday applies to all counties in the most-restrictive purple tier of the state’s four-tier coronavirus monitoring system — including Orange County. It remains in force nightly until 5 a.m. on Dec. 21.

Most law enforcement agencies are not enforcing the curfew. Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes told City News Service that he has a lot of issues with the stay-at-home order because he believes the resources to enforce it are limited and could lead to civil rights challenges.

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Free at-home COVID-19 test kits now available to residents in Santa Ana, Anaheim

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 22:59:45 +0000

Residents in Santa Ana and Anaheim, two areas that have been widely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, can now order a free, at-home COVID-19 test kit, health officials announced on Monday.

The saliva-based collection tests are being made available through a partnership between the County of Orange and Ambry Genetics. At a news conference last week, officials said 11,000 test kits were reserved for residents in Santa Ana and Anaheim, but another 500,000 test kits will be available on a "rolling basis" for all Orange County residents beginning in December.

Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do said the at-home test kits are beneficial to residents who may not have easy access to testing sites and has a message for residents: "Please don't hesitate to get tested."

To get one of the at-home saliva-based test kits, residents in Anaheim or Santa Ana should visit oc.care.ambrygen.com to request for a test to be mailed to their home within 24-48 hours, or to arrange pickup from a community clinic location.

Orange County Health Care Agency officials describe the test as "quick and easy," with results available online within one to three days of the specimen reaching the lab in Aliso Viejo.

The home delivery kits will contain detailed instructions on collecting the specimen, as well as a prepaid return label for FedEx and a list of community locations where the test can be dropped off. For those who register to pick up a testing kit at a community clinic, there will be staff available to help residents complete and return the test as requested.

For more information on how to order an at-home COVID-19 test kit, visit occovid19.ochealthinfo.com.

To schedule a COVID-19 test in Orange County, you can visit one of the Super Sites by registering at occovid19.ochealthinfo.com.

#SantaAna and #Anaheim residents can now order an at-home, #OCCOVID19 saliva-based collection test made available through a partnership between the @OCGovCA and @AmbryGenetics: https://t.co/b0fhvHxj30. pic.twitter.com/bOSfGrOjpm
— OC Health Care Agency (@ochealth) November 23, 2020

Brew Ho! Ho! cancels its drive-in music and craft beer event due to coronavirus restrictions

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 15:02:13 +0000

Orange County-based Brew Ha Ha Productions announced that it has canceled its annual Brew Ho! Ho! Drive-In Flashback Craft Beer Christmas Party.

The event had been reimagined to take place drive-in style with live music, socially distanced spaces for vehicles and picnic tables with self-served craft beer pours. It was set to take place Saturday, Dec. 19 at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado.

“Due to the latest restrictions by health officials and out of an abundance of caution, we are canceling the Brew Ho! Ho! drive-in event,” promoters announced via its official Facebook page on Monday afternoon. “We thank all those who purchased tickets; full refunds will be processed immediately. We wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We can’t wait to get back to celebrating with you all in 2021.”

Each year, Brew Ha Ha Productions puts on several beer festivals including its Brew Hee Haw Craft Beer Roundup at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa in July; the Brew Ha Ha, or Brew Ska Ska as it was dubbed in 2019, at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado in September; and the Brew Ho! Ho! Holiday Ale Fest, which typically takes place at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim in December.

They’ve also been a big part of music festivals including the Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco & Music Festival, Driftwood Country Music, Craft Beer and BBQ Festival and partnered with NOFX frontman Fat Mike for the Punk in Drublic Craft Beer Festival.

The only event the company has announced for 2021 so far is the rescheduled Punk in the Park featuring Pennywise and NOFX April 24-25 in Oak Canyon Park.

‘World’s most beautiful duck’ stands out in OC

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 10:52:56 +0000

Early on a cool recent morning, dozens of ducks milled about the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. Most were mallards or wood ducks, there were a few coots and a variety of others. Bobbing in the middle of this collection of familiar waterfowl was a single duck that stood out from all the rest with its boldly colored feathers – a mandarin duck.

If the glamorous-looking mandarin duck were a person and walked into a crowded room, all conversations would stop and heads would turn. It has been called by many the world’s most beautiful duck, and it certainly looks that way when floating on a local pond with other ducks.

The colorful male Mandarin duck floats among a group of wood ducks, which it is closely related to, in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The colorful male Mandarin duck floats through the water in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Native to East Asia, the colorful male Mandarin duck sits on a concrete pillar near the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Native to East Asia, a colorful male Mandarin duck cruises through the water in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A male Mandarin duck, flaps its wings as it sits up in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Closely related to wood ducks, the colorful male Mandarin duck, left, floats among a group of wood ducks in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Mandarin ducks have been spotted over the years throughout Orange County: in Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Orange. The small duck is native to East Asia.

In recent years the mandarin duck has started appearing far from its native territory, including New York’s Central Park and much of Western Europe.

“There are people who have kept collections of waterfowl. The birds are descendants of birds that escaped or were released,” said Sylvia Gallagher, an Orange County bird identification instructor and expert.

“They obviously feel at home and are becoming established,” she said, though added, “I don’t think the American Ornithological Society recognizes them as ‘established’ yet.”

Orange County COVID-19 Hospitalizations Increase, Daily Cases Continue to Top 1,000

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 21:22:03 +0000

Orange County reported 552 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths Sunday, bringing the county’s totals to 69,694 cases and 1,554 fatalities.

The number of new cases is a decrease from the past couple days — including Friday, when an OC-record 1,169 cases were reported — but is still a significant number.

The number of county residents hospitalized with the coronavirus is also on the upswing, increasing from 365 Saturday to 380, with the number of people in intensive care rising from 88 to 91, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

The change in the three-day average of hospitalized patients dropped from 54.1% to 24.6%. The county has 27% of its intensive care unit beds and 67% of its ventilators available.

The number of tests conducted in the county stood at 1,346,887, including 19,035 reported Sunday. There have been 57,833 documented recoveries.

County officials expressed confidence last week that local hospitals can handle the surge.

“Right now we still have significant bed staffing in Orange County,” said Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, who is president of the California State Association of Counties. “But we need to keep track as COVID cases rise and how many get hospitalized. We want to be sure our health care system doesn’t get overwhelmed.”

The county’s intensive care units have not seen a sharp rise in patients, which could be owed to “better therapeutics” as doctors get more efficient at treating the virus, Bartlett said.

Orange County and most of California came under a state-mandated soft curfew Saturday night that bars nonessential activities, gatherings and business operations starting at 10 p.m. nightly. The order announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office Thursday applies to all counties in the most-restrictive purple tier of the state’s four-tier coronavirus monitoring system — including Orange County. It remains in force nightly until 5 a.m. on Dec. 21.

Even if deputies issued tickets for a misdemeanor violation for ignoring a state health order, what happens if the person cited refuses to accept it, Barnes asked.

“How far do we go?” he asked. “Is the public comfortable (that) we’re going to potentially arrest you and with force if necessary if a public health order is violated?”

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To compound matters, the courts are not holding hearings on misdemeanors, Barnes said.

“I think we’ve gotten significant compliance in the county of Orange. Most people are following the guidelines of public health orders,” Barnes said. “The few who aren’t are few and far between.”

About 400 people held a protest against the curfew from 10:01 p.m. Saturday to shortly after midnight Sunday at the Huntington Beach Pier.

No citations or arrests were announced.

Orange County was moved into the most-restrictive “purple” tier of the state’s four-tier coronavirus regulatory system on Monday, along with 27 other counties, amid a statewide surge in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. The move left 41 of the state’s 58 counties — 94.1% of the state’s population — in the most-restrictive tier.

Counties in the tier are prohibited from allowing indoor service at restaurants and movie theaters, gyms and fitness centers.

O.C. winter outdoor dining program offering $1,000 grants to help restaurants buy heaters, tents

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 17:41:55 +0000

Orange County restaurants operating outdoors can now apply for a grant to help them draw customers this winter.

Under a program launched Friday, the county is offering $1,000 grants to fund tents, canopies, lighting and heaters or warmers for 1,000 restaurants. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

This page on the county's website has information on eligibility and the required documentation. Those interested can click here to apply.

Kim Vinson, who owns a small coffee shop chain in the O.C., applied for the grant.

"Every penny is very important," she said.

Vinson described the hardship of running a business through a pandemic, saying that she appreciates the acknowledgement of the difficulties faced by business owners. She also finds joy from those who continue to support them.

"It’s been extremely hard. It’s been difficult. It’s been confusing," Vinson said. "It’s been amazing too, to see the customers just love us and are so loyal. You can’t forget the loyalty of people."

Jennifer McGraw reports for the KTLA 5 Morning News on Nov. 22, 2020.

Hundreds Protest Curfew in Huntington Beach

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 16:17:58 +0000

A crowd estimated at 400 people gathered in front of the Huntington Beach pier to protest the first night of a statewide curfew aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, authorities said Sunday.

The people gathered at 10 p.m. Saturday along Pacific Coast Highway at Main Street, crossing the highway when allowed by the traffic light, said Huntington Beach police Lt. Ryan Reilly. By 11:30 p.m., the crowd appeared about half that size, said Reilly, who was watching the gathering via surveillance cameras.

The group was law-abiding “for the most part,” he said. One person was arrested for public intoxication. “Some, not all” wore face masks. It appeared the vehicles passing through the area were part of the demonstration and the same vehicles were seen moving north and south on PCH, Reilly said.

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Officers were there watching the activity but no illegal assembly was declared, he said. It appeared from the surveillance cameras that downtown businesses shut down at or before 10 p.m., Reilly said. The department was not planning to issue citations for curfew violations, he said. “We are seeking compliance and trying to educate people.”

This duck stands out from its feathered friends

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 12:41:29 +0000

The colorful male Mandarin duck floats among a group of wood ducks, which it is closely related to, in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The colorful male Mandarin duck floats through the water in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Native to East Asia, the colorful male Mandarin duck sits on a concrete pillar near the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Native to East Asia, a colorful male Mandarin duck cruises through the water in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A male Mandarin duck, flaps its wings as it sits up in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Closely related to wood ducks, the colorful male Mandarin duck, left, floats among a group of wood ducks in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Mandarin ducks have been spotted over the years throughout Orange County: in Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Orange. The small duck is native to East Asia.

In recent years the mandarin duck has started appearing far from its native territory, including New York’s Central Park and much of Western Europe.

“They obviously feel at home and are becoming established,” she said, though added, “I don’t think the American Ornithological Society recognizes them as ‘established’ yet.”

As nighttime curfew begins, sheriffs across SoCal vow no enforcement — but to varying degrees

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 08:11:27 +0000

The nighttime curfew going into effect in most of California's 58 counties Saturday night will not be strictly enforced by any Southern California sheriffs — a vow made individually by each agency in the region.

From Ventura to San Diego counties, sheriffs have said deputies will not be patrolling the streets, looking for people violating the public health order. Rather, they are hoping for voluntary compliance and don't plan to actively enforce the new, state-issued, coronavirus-related restrictions.

About 94% of the state's 40 million residents live in the 41 counties placed under the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. The health order will remain in effect starting 10 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Dec. 21. State officials have said it bans non-essential activities like social gatherings with other households and only permits essential activities like grocery shopping — much like the March stay-at-home order.

Restaurants can only serve takeout past 10 p.m., officials said.

People dine along 5th Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter before an imposed curfew on Nov. 21, 2020 in San Diego. California Governor Gavin Newsom has imposed a curfew, starting at 10 p.m. Saturday evening, affecting most California counties due to an increase of COVID-19 infection rates around the state. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

The curfew only applies to counties in the purple tier of the state's reopening plan, the most restrictive stage, which prohibits gyms, movie theaters, restaurants and many other businesses from hosting customers indoors. Ventura, Orange and San Diego counties are all back in the purple tier after previously managing to get case rates low enough to make it into the less-restrictive, red tier.

The red tier allows the partial reopening of these businesses's indoor operations and other easings of restrictions.

Now those counties must comply with the widespread stay-at-home order along with San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties, which have all consistently been in the purple tier.

“The virus is spreading at a pace we haven’t seen since the start of this pandemic... We are sounding the alarm,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement released Thursday, three days after apologizing for violating the state's health restrictions himself, attending a 12-person dinner while mask-less at the swanky French Laundry north of San Francisco.

“It is crucial that we act to decrease transmission and slow hospitalizations before the death count surges," Newsom said. "We’ve done it before and we must do it again.”

But among the Southern California sheriffs who have vowed to not actively enforce California's new health order are some who have gone a step further, vowing to not respond to curfew-related calls.

In Orange County, where masks drew protests and even opposition from elected officials earlier in the pandemic, Sheriff Don Barnes said deputies will not respond to any such calls and questioned the constitutionality the order.

“Let me be clear — this is a matter of personal responsibility and not a matter of law enforcement," Barnes said in a statement Friday.

"Orange County Sheriff’s deputies will not be dispatched to, or respond to, calls for service to enforce compliance with face coverings, social gatherings, or stay-at-home orders only," Barnes said, saying deputies will only respond to calls related to crime and "the protection of life or property."

The county has been the site of widespread opposition to masks, from protests to public statements of opposition from elected officials earlier in the pandemic. In late May, as cases surged around the country, Barnes told county supervisors: “We are not the mask police."

In neighboring Riverside County, Sheriff Chad Bianco has also questioned the health order as potentially violating residents' constitutional rights. But he also gave another reason for deputies not taking calls about house parties and other curfew violations.

In a statement released Thursday, Bianco said deputies won't respond to such calls "to limit potential negative interactions and exposure to our deputies."

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Two deputies died from COVID-19 on the same day back in April, when at least 26 employees were infected with the virus.

Even in Los Angeles County, where county public health officials have issued their own set of restrictions going a step further than the state's order, sheriff's officials have said they won't patrol for violators or take other steps to actively enforce the curfew.

"I can tell you that the sheriff's deputies are not going to be out on foot or out in their vehicles, looking for people between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to question them about their whereabouts," said L.A. County sheriff's Capt. Edward C. Ramirez of the West Hollywood station.

"Our goal is to not arrest folks," Ramirez said. "Our goal is to not use criminal law to enforce these things but to utilize education, to utilize humanity, to talk to folks about the issue."

About a third of the more than 1 million coronavirus cases in California have been in L.A. County, which holds a quarter of the state's population, according to public health figures released Saturday.

In the past, some violators of health restrictions in L.A. County have been dealt heavy fines. A party promoter in Glendora faced $1,450 in fines and more than $17,000 in other costs from the city after hosting a mansion party in August where dozens of guests were photographed not wearing masks.

House parties and other gatherings with other households have been widely cited by public health officials as a driving force behind recent surges in cases. L.A. County Health Director Barbara Ferrer has said social gatherings among younger adults are driving the infection rate as they make up most of the new cases reported daily. The state has said the curfew targets those sorts of situations.

In Ventura County, deputies will respond to complaints of gatherings with other households like parties, Sheriff's Capt. Eric Buschow told the VCReporter. Still, he lambasted the state-issued curfew as "problematic" and "untenable," saying deputies won't actively patrol for violators.

"There is no legal justification or mechanism for how it should be enforced,” Buschow told the VCReporter.

Here is our position on the curfew and stay-at-home orders issued yesterday by Governor Newsom: pic.twitter.com/QBdraCTLmY
— Ventura Co. Sheriff (@VENTURASHERIFF) November 20, 2020

San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies also will not actively patrol for people violating the curfew, and officials have said complaints related to the health order will be handled by a countywide Joint Information Center. The county created a hotline back in March for virus-related concerns.

"We trust that members of the communities we serve will act responsibly and demonstrate good judgement to do their part to slow the spread of the virus," the department said in a statement.

Statement regarding the Limited Stay at Home Order #SBCSD pic.twitter.com/ZR5Iig0q14
— San Bernardino County Sheriff (@sbcountysheriff) November 20, 2020

"Going grocery shopping is essential. Going to the pharmacy is essential. Going to a drinking party at your friend's house is not essential," San Diego County Undersheriff Mike Barnett said in an interview with local television station KUSI.

"And we're not necessarily going out, looking for these [individuals]," Barnett said. "We get enough complaints about it, and we'll certainly respond to calls for service that we get."

On Thursday, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore had announced a “full-time law enforcement presence” to ensure all local businesses comply with the nightly stay-at-home order. The county has issued 52 cease-and-desist orders since Monday demanding compliance from violators.

As nighttime curfew begins, sheriffs across SoCal vow no enforcement — but to varying degrees

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 06:33:17 +0000

The nighttime curfew going into effect in most of California's 58 counties Saturday night will not be strictly enforced by any local sheriffs — a vow made individually by each agency in the region.

Restaurants can only serve takeout past 10 p.m., officials said.

The curfew only applies to counties in the purple tier of the state's reopening plan, the most restrictive stage which prohibits gyms, movie theaters, restaurants and many other businesses from hosting customers indoors. Ventura, Orange and San Diego counties are all back in the purple tier after previously managing to get case rates low enough to make it into the less restrictive red tier.

The red tier allows the partial reopening of these businesses's indoor operations and other easings of restrictions.

Now those counties must comply with the widespread stay-at-home order along with San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties, which have all consistently been in the purple tier.

“It is crucial that we act to decrease transmission and slow hospitalizations before the death count surges," Newsom said. "We’ve done it before and we must do it again.”

But among the Southern California sheriffs who have vowed to not actively enforce California's new health order are some who have gone a step further, vowing to not respond to curfew-related calls.

“Let me be clear — this is a matter of personal responsibility and not a matter of law enforcement, Barnes said in a statement Friday.

In neighboring Riverside County, Sheriff Chad Bianco has also questioned the health order as potentially violating residents' Constitutional rights. But he also gave another reason for deputies not taking calls about house parties and other curfew violations.

In a statement released Thursday, Bianco said deputies won't respond to such calls "to limit potential negative interactions and exposure to our deputies."

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has been hit hard by the virus. Two deputies died from COVID-19 on the same day back in April, when at least 26 employees were infected with coronavirus.

"I can tell you that the sheriff's deputies are not going to be out on foot or out in their vehicles, looking for people between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to question them about their whereabouts," said L.A. County Sheriff's Capt. Edward C. Ramirez of the West Hollywood station.

"Our goal is to not arrest folks," Ramirez said. "Our goal is to not use criminal law to enforce these things but to utilize education, to utilize humanity, to talk to folks about the issue."

"There is no legal justification or mechanism for how it should be enforced,” Buschow told the VCReporter.

Here is our position on the curfew and stay-at-home orders issued yesterday by Governor Newsom: pic.twitter.com/QBdraCTLmY
— Ventura Co. Sheriff (@VENTURASHERIFF) November 20, 2020

"We trust that members of the communities we serve will act responsibly and demonstrate good judgement to do their part to slow the spread of the virus," the department said in a statement.

Statement regarding the Limited Stay at Home Order #SBCSD pic.twitter.com/ZR5Iig0q14
— San Bernardino County Sheriff (@sbcountysheriff) November 20, 2020

"And we're not necessarily going out, looking for these (individuals), Barnett said. "We get enough complaints about it, and we'll certainly respond to calls for service that we get."

Orange County to Offer Outdoor Dining Grant for Restaurant Owners

Sat, 21 Nov 2020 00:45:38 +0000

Orange County restaurants may apply for a $1,000 grant through the OC Restaurant Outdoor Dining Grant program to implement or expand outdoor dining capacity.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a $1 million plan to help Orange County restaurant owners expand and improve their restaurants. The program, developed by District 1 Supervisor Andrew Do and District 3 Supervisor Don Wagner, launches when the county moves to the most restrictive level of California’s color-coded county tracking system.

“The pandemic has forced restaurant owners to be creative to keep their businesses open,” said Vice President Do. “Cookouts have been a crucial tool in keeping many Orange County restaurants afloat. As Orange County returned to the Purple Tier yesterday, the most restrictive tier in the state, this grant program will help those restaurants stay open for businesses this winter while ensuring they adhere to the guidance from California public health officials to keep their clients safe.”

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The program is funded with federal funds from the CARES Act and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Eligible expenses include only tents or awnings, heaters, and lighting and those purchases must be made between November 16 and December 23.

Orange County restaurants will be able to apply for a $1,000 grant through the OC Restaurant Outdoor Dining Grant program to implement or expand their outdoor dining capacity.

For more information, visit the Orange County Community Resources Agency website by clicking here.

Orange County’s art scene gets boost with $2.7 million in assistance amid pandemic crunch

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 13:54:54 +0000

For Orange County youth, the arts are essential.

Often stuck inside and in front of computers, the coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on kids – having creative outlets is a crucial part of maintaining their mental health, arts leaders say. Access to the arts are a crucial part of so many people’s mental health.

Actors in the Arts & Learning Conservatory’s production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” socially distance as they wait in the green room in Costa Mesa on Thursday, November 19, 2020. The Arts & Learning Conservatory is one of the recipients of the $2.8 million raised by Arts Orange County to help local theaters and arts groups survive during the pandemic. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Leilani Steiner, 13, left, playing the part of Snoopy, takes direction from director of photography John Espino during a video taping session against a green screen at the Arts & Learning Conservatory in Costa Mesa on Thursday, November 19, 2020 as they work on a Covid safe production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. The Arts & Learning Conservatory is one of the recipients of the $2.8 million raised by Arts Orange County to help local theaters and arts groups survive during the pandemic. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bryn Mason, 14, right, playing the part of Sally performs as director of photography John Espino, left, video tapes Mason against a green screen at the Arts & Learning Conservatory in Costa Mesa on Thursday, November 19, 2020 as they work on a Covid safe production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The Arts & Learning Conservatory is one of the recipients of the $2.8 million raised by Arts Orange County to help local theaters and arts groups survive during the pandemic. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bryn Mason, 14, right, playing the part of Sally performs takes direction from director Haley Gaskin, left, and director of photography John Espino, center, during a video taping session against a green screen at the Arts & Learning Conservatory in Costa Mesa on Thursday, November 19, 2020 as they work on a Covid safe production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The Arts & Learning Conservatory is one of the recipients of the $2.8 million raised by Arts Orange County to help local theaters and arts groups survive during the pandemic. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Leilani Steiner, 13, left, playing the part of Snoopy, takes direction from director Haley Gaskin during a video taping session against a green screen at the Arts & Learning Conservatory in Costa Mesa on Thursday, November 19, 2020 as they work on a Covid safe production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The Arts & Learning Conservatory is one of the recipients of the $2.8 million raised by Arts Orange County to help local theaters and arts groups survive during the pandemic. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bryn Mason, 14, left, playing the part of Sally, gives the thumbs-up to director Haley Gaskin during a video taping session against a green screen at the Arts & Learning Conservatory in Costa Mesa on Thursday, November 19, 2020. The theatre company is working on their production of a Covid safe production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The Arts & Learning Conservatory is one of the recipients of the $2.8 million raised by Arts Orange County to help local theaters and arts groups survive during the pandemic. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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“More so now, with the children now having to do so much online and it’s just them, so individualized, they are losing that whole aspect of social and emotional health and that human aspect of connecting to other people,” said Debora Wondercheck, CEO of Arts & Learning Conservatory in Costa Mesa. “It’s really negatively impacting kids. … It’s so important these kids connect and are able to just develop these skills to stay connected, as opposed to feeling they are all alone.”

That’s why when the pandemic hit earlier this year, Arts Orange County, a 25-year-old nonprofit that brings the local art community together, jumped into action to raise funds and lobby for government dollars that could help keep theaters, museums, arts organizations and individual artists afloat.

Arts Orange County, along with Charitable Ventures and Orange County Community Foundation, created the OC Arts and Culture Resilience Fund to help raise and disperse money to those in need. Right now, some of that funding is helping the young performers with the Arts & Learning Conservatory connect by creating their own movie.

In the eight months since the pandemic shut down the world, an estimated $2.7 million has been secured to help the arts community pay employees and keep organizations big and small from falling victim to the pandemic’s economic impacts, said Richard Stein, president and CEO of Arts Orange County.

Some of that money came from private donors – about 45 of them who gave anywhere from $25 to $25,000 – while allocations from governmental agencies, individual cities and the County of Orange also contributed to the effort.

About $1 million in public money, plus $160,000 in private fundraising, has been distributed by the resilience fund, organizers said. More than $1.5 million was distributed by government agencies directly – the result of the group’s advocacy efforts, Stein said.

Financial assistance went to 167 artists, and 137 arts organizations and businesses in 27 cities received grants, the Arts Orange County report says.

Getting a portion of the CARES Act federal stimulus from the county was a big deal, Stein said, because initially much of the arts community was excluded from receiving funds.

Stein said he lobbied, on behalf of the resilience fund, county supervisors from each district to put a spotlight on the importance of the arts community, with some of the officials jumping aboard to allocate funds to help local groups.

Santa Ana allocated about $900,000 of its CARES Act stimulus to support the city’s three major museums – the Discovery Cube, Bowers Museum and the Heritage Museum of Orange County – as well as a fund with $500,000 for smaller organizations and individual artists.

“About every sector of our community has been impacted severely by the pandemic. And the arts community has been, for the most part, entirely shut down since March,” Stein said. “Only art galleries and museums have been able to reopen at all, on a limited basis, under the state’s protocols. But the performing arts organizations have not been able to open at all.”

Some have pivoted to offer virtual programming online. Most have had to lay people off. Others couldn’t buy basic supplies, with no revenue coming in.

For some, such as STAGEStheatre in Fullerton and the Attic Community Theater in Santa Ana, the struggles were too great and operations have ceased, Stein said.

“Appropriate provisions have not been made to support small businesses and nonprofits in these unprecedented times, so it is with boundless hope for a bright future, that we are announcing at this time that STAGESthreatre will be closing our theatre space,” the Fullerton theater company’s website reads, noting the organization is not closing, but hopes it can “reorganize, fundraise and plan our return when it is deemed safe to do so.”

“We make this decision so that we may live to play another day.”

Most arts organizations believe they will not be able to reopen until the middle of 2021 or beyond, Stein said.

“Which means they will have been closed down for more than a year,” Stein said. “It’s unimaginable that a business can be closed down that long and survive. The funds were greatly needed by these organizations to make ends meet.”

With no end in sight, the needs in the art community continue with more organizations shutting down and artists struggling.

“We are certainly hopeful there will be another stimulus bill at the federal level. It’s been talked about for several months,” Stein said. “If additional funds are granted to cities or the county, we will once again advocate that arts organizations and businesses be included as eligible applicants.”

Arts & Learning Conservatory was allocated about $31,000 from the CARES Act stimulus through county Supervisor Michelle Steel’s district, most of which went to expenses, fees and employee costs, Wondercheck said. “That money went quite quickly.”

Arts & Learning Conservancy has had to get creative – something the arts world knows about.

The conservancy is currently filming socially distanced student performances for a drive-in movie fundraiser showcasing “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The kids are being filmed individually and edited together into a movie to be shown at 6 and 8 p.m. at Mariner’s Church on Dec. 3. Cost is $40 per car.

Wondercheck hopes there will be continued support for the local arts community, which in turn helps youth who are grappling with loneliness and isolation during these challenging times.

“It’s so important these kids connect and are able to just develop these skills to stay connected, as opposed to feeling they are all alone,” she said. “Keeping the arts present keeps them grounded, keeps them connected … this is essential.”

Briefly: Work complete at OCC’s Aquatics Pavilion; Orange apartments sell for $11.5M

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 10:02:04 +0000

The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, funded by Measure M, a $698 million general obligation bond, is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos.

The expanded complex now has a 65‐meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25‐meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The three buildings are interconnected by an overhead shade structure.

The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies.

C.W. Driver Cos. said the complex was built in two phases, with the first stage building a 58,000-square-foot, multi-building complex. Phase two included renovating a 30,000-square-foot structure that housed a men’s and women’s locker room and existing pool areas.

Measure M will further modernize education facilities for all universities within the Coast Community College District.

C.W. Driver Cos. partnered with Little Diversified Architectural Consulting and Aquatic Design Group on the project.

The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
Batavia Gardens, a 32-unit apartment building in Orange, has been sold to in a 1031-exchange to a local investor for $11.5 million, or $359,375 per unit, according to CBRE. The building at 345 N. Batavia St. has two-bedroom townhome floorplans with patios and amenities, such as a gated entry, swimming pool and laundry facilities. Recent exterior improvements include new paint, stucco repair, new roofing and a pool deck. (Courtesy of CBRE)
CapRock Partners has sold a 110,710-square-foot industrial property in Phoenix, near Sky Harbor Airport to a global real estate investment adviser for an undisclosed amount. The property is fully leased by Greif, a manufacturer that specializes in industrial packaging. (Courtesy of CapRock Partners)

Expand

Orange apartments sell for $11.5M

Batavia Gardens, a 32-unit apartment building in Orange, has been sold to in a 1031-exchange to a local investor for $11.5 million, or $359,375 per unit, according to CBRE.

The building at 345 N. Batavia St. has two-bedroom townhome floorplans with patios and amenities, such as a gated entry, swimming pool and laundry facilities. Recent exterior improvements include new paint, stucco repair, new roofing and a pool deck.

CBRE’s Dan Blackwell and Katrina Heyne represented the buyer and seller in the transaction. Neither party was identified by CBRE.

“This is the first time Batavia Gardens has been offered for sale in more than 40 years,” said Blackwell. “The property’s location, rental demand and embedded value made it a strong acquisition opportunity. This is the largest apartment complex to be sold in the city of Orange since 2016.”

The building is within walking distance to Chapman University and near Old Towne Orange.

Sold in Phoenix

CapRock Partners has sold a 110,710-square-foot industrial property in Phoenix, near Sky Harbor Airport to a global real estate investment adviser for an undisclosed amount.

The property is fully leased by Greif, a manufacturer that specializes in industrial packaging.

CapRock Partners acquired the property in 2017 and renovated the building into a Class A status.

CapRock Partners was represented by Will Strong of Cushman & Wakefield. The buyer represented itself.

Real estate transactions, leases and new projects, industry hires, new ventures and upcoming events are compiled from press releases by contributing writer Karen Levin. Submit items and high-resolution photos via email to Business Editor Samantha Gowen at sgowen@scng.com. Please allow at least a week for publication. All items are subject to editing for clarity and length.

Real estate news: Work complete at OCC’s Aquatics Pavilion; Orange apartments sell for $11.5M

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 09:28:25 +0000

The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, funded by Measure M, a $698 million general obligation bond, is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos.

The expanded and modernized complex now has a 65‐meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25‐meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The three buildings are interconnected by an overhead shade structure.

The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies.

Measure M will further modernize education facilities for all universities within the Coast Community College District.

C.W. Driver Cos. partnered with Little Diversified Architectural Consulting and Aquatic Design Group on the project.

The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
The new Kinesiology and Aquatics Pavilion at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is complete, according to builder C.W. Driver Cos. The larger and modernized complex now has a 65â€meter competition pool with double bulkheads, 25â€meter instructional pool and 450-person capacity bleachers. The 88,000-square-foot athletics center has space for programs including physical education, athletics, sports medicine and kinesiology studies. (Courtesy of Jun Tang Photography)
Batavia Gardens, a 32-unit apartment building in Orange, has been sold to in a 1031-exchange to a local investor for $11.5 million, or $359,375 per unit, according to CBRE. The building at 345 N. Batavia St. has two-bedroom townhome floorplans with patios and amenities, such as a gated entry, swimming pool and laundry facilities. Recent exterior improvements include new paint, stucco repair, new roofing and a pool deck. (Courtesy of CBRE)
CapRock Partners has sold a 110,710-square-foot industrial property in Phoenix, near Sky Harbor Airport to a global real estate investment adviser for an undisclosed amount. The property is fully leased by Greif, a manufacturer that specializes in industrial packaging. (Courtesy of CapRock Partners)

Expand

Orange apartments sell for $11.5M

Batavia Gardens, a 32-unit apartment building in Orange, has been sold to in a 1031-exchange to a local investor for $11.5 million, or $359,375 per unit, according to CBRE.

CBRE’s Dan Blackwell and Katrina Heyne represented the buyer and seller in the transaction. Neither party was identified by CBRE.

The building is within walking distance to Chapman University and near Old Towne Orange.

Sold in Phoenix

CapRock Partners has sold a 110,710-square-foot industrial property in Phoenix, near Sky Harbor Airport to a global real estate investment adviser for an undisclosed amount.

The property is fully leased by Greif, a manufacturer that specializes in industrial packaging.

CapRock Partners acquired the property in 2017 and renovated the building into a Class A status.

CapRock Partners was represented by Will Strong of Cushman & Wakefield. The buyer represented itself.

Whale With Mangled Tail Traveled From Russia to California

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 20:37:21 +0000

A whale watching crew in Southern California has discovered a humpback whale with a disfigured tail had traveled more than 3,000 miles from Russia, an unheard-of journey in the whale world.

The whale watchers spotted the animal earlier this month off Catalina and sought photos to help tell its story and maybe reveal how its tail was damaged, The Orange County Register reported Tuesday.

In the search, photos taken of the whale a year ago off Palos Verdes by the Newport Coastal Adventure crew matched photos captured in 2015 off the Russian coast.

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“This is the first humpback I’ve ever documented that has been seen in Russia. Usually we get excited if it is documented in Monterey or Washington and then comes here,” said Mark Girardeau, a photographer who documented the whale.

The whale was recognized because it had big chunks of its tail missing, a uniquely identifiable part of the animal. The photos from Russian show the whale’s tail wounds look fresher, leading Girardeau to believe it was attacked by a killer whale when it was a calf.

Researchers have said humpback whales found off Southern California’s coastline typically migrate between here and Mexico, sometimes as far as Costa Rica.

“Most of the them, we can recognize them on sight,” Girardeau said. “Each summer, there’s a few that hang out and you get to know them. This one came out of the blue.”

Girardeau said he wonders if there’s more images from the past five years that could fill in the gaps of the whale’s life.

“Where else has this whale been?” he asked, wondering if it was born in more tropical waters such as near the Philippines. “There might be someone out there holding the key to this whale. Maybe someone has a photo. It’s like a mystery – where else is this whale going?”

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3 make history as 1st Korean American women ever elected to congress — 2 of them representing CA

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 14:46:37 +0000

By text, by phone and by social media, they trumpeted the news from California to Asia: Late Friday, Young Kim had joined her “sister” Michelle Steel in making history as two of the first three Korean American women ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In winning two hotly contested Southern California districts, Kim and Steel helped Republicans push back against the blue wave that resulted in Democrats gaining all seven Orange County congressional seats in the 2018 midterms.

The two Orange County Republicans will be sworn into office in January alongside a third Korean American congresswoman-elect, Marilyn Strickland, a Democrat from western Washington state.

Apart from politics, many Korean Americans said it was a moment to savor.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

Inmate Agrees to Admit to 1981 Murder, Setting Up Release After Serving Nearly 4 Decades in Prison

Sat, 14 Nov 2020 22:34:42 +0000

A 68-year-old man who has served nearly four decades in prison for the 1981 killing of a Southern California retiree will be released after accepting a plea bargain following a lengthy legal battle, according to a newspaper report Friday.

James Andrew Melton agreed this week to plead guilty to first-degree murder for the strangulation of Anthony Lial DeSousa, the Orange County Register reported. Burglary and robbery charges were dismissed.

In exchange for his guilty plea, a 25-years-to-life sentence for the murder was stayed, and Melton was sentenced to 99 years of probation, the newspaper said. Paperwork clearing the way for his release could be finalized by Saturday.

DeSousa was found dead in his Newport Beach condo on Oct. 13, 1981. He had come out as a gay man following his wife’s death and had placed ads in magazines looking for partners.

Prosecutors alleged Melton used advertisements in gay magazines to meet rich, older men he could rob. He was accused of meeting DeSousa through an ad, then robbing and strangling the 77-year-old.

Johnny Boyd, a former prison lover of Melton’s, told authorities that the two of them had hatched the scheme to target rich, older men during their time together in 1980 at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.

Boyd alleged that Melton admitted to him that he killed DeSousa. At the time of Melton’s arrest, authorities said he had items belonging to DeSousa, including the older man’s car and watch.

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Attorneys representing Melton have denied Boyd’s allegations, describing him as a spurned lover with a history of lying. The defense attorneys also contended that the DNA found at the crime scene did not match Melton’s.

Melton was sentenced to death in 1982 and spent more than a decade on Death Row at San Quentin. A federal judge threw out the initial conviction in 2007, finding that Melton was over-medicated during his trial, which prevented him from understanding the proceedings.

Since then, the question of Melton’s competency leading up to and during his death penalty trial has hung over more than a decade’s worth of legal wrangling, the Register said.

Melton’s second trial ended in a deadlocked jury. For his third trial, prosecutors opted not to seek the death penalty. In 2018, Melton was once again convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. That conviction was overturned on appeal last year.

CCTV Leads to Arrest of Couple After Man Shot, Killed Outside Costa Mesa Motel

Sat, 14 Nov 2020 21:29:08 +0000

A couple has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a man outside a motel in Costa Mesa, police said Saturday.

Officers were dispatched at about 5:15 a.m. on Nov. 7 in response to a call of a man with a head wound outside a motel in the 2000 block of Harbor Boulevard. They came upon Dakota Hansen, 24, unconscious and with a gunshot wound to the head, said Detective Jonathan Tripp of the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Paramedics rushed Hansen to an area hospital, where he was taken off life support Friday and pronounced dead, Tripp said.

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“No suspects were located at the scene,” he said. “However, CCTV footage indicated there were two suspicious subjects and a vehicle at the scene.”

An investigation revealed that 34-year-old Nick Ryan Lavey of Costa Mesa was the owner of the vehicle seen on the footage, he said.

Detectives on Thursday located Lavey and his girlfriend, 28-year-old Kaley Joanne Lippmann, also of Costa Mesa. Both matched the description of the suspects seen on CCTV footage, he said.

“A search warrant was obtained for Lavey and Lippmann’s residence, where detectives recovered items suspected to be related to the crime,” Tripp said. “Both suspects were then arrested and booked on suspicion of murder and conspiracy to commit a crime.”

Costa Mesa police detectives urged anyone with information regarding the crime to call them at 714-754-5464.

Republican Kim Wins 39th Congressional District Race

Sat, 14 Nov 2020 18:57:05 +0000

Former Assemblywoman Young Kim will be among two Republican House members from Orange County, both female immigrants from South Korea, when the 117th Congress convenes in January. Rep. Gil Cisneros conceded to Kim after he fell behind by 4,145 votes in their rematch in the 39th Congressional District, according to figures released Friday by the Secretary of State’s Office.

Kim leads 50.6%-49.4% and 172,253-168,108 in the district, which runs from Walnut in the north to Chino Hills in the east, Hacienda Heights in the west and Fullerton in the south.

“I called to congratulate Young Kim on her victory,” Cisneros, D- Yorba Linda, said in a statement released at 6:45 p.m. Friday. “I wish her nothing but the best and hope she will stay true to her word and protect those with preexisting conditions, work to lower prescription drug prices and reinstate the SALT deduction.”

The state and local tax deduction permits taxpayers who itemize when filing federal taxes to deduct certain taxes paid to state and local governments. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on Dec. 22, 2017, capped it at $10,000 per year, consisting of property taxes plus state income or sales taxes, but not both.

In a video released on her Twitter account, Kim thanked her campaign’s volunteers and contributors, then said, “Whoever you voted for in this election, I hope you know that regardless of any difference we may have I will always work on your behalf and fight for you.”

“Our community is such a wonderful place because we come together to look out for one another,” Kim said. “I will take that spirit with me to represent you in Washington D.C.” Kim, R-La Habra, has promised to work to ensure Americans have access to quality and affordable health care that can help them through the coronavirus pandemic, work with federal officials to minimize the damage of the pandemic and put in place guardrails to prevent a resurgence or future pandemic.

Kim has said she will work with her colleagues to study the early missteps responding to the pandemic and invest in emergency preparedness. Kim said she will work on bipartisan legislation that invests in the economy, gives small businesses the resources they need to recover and brings jobs back quickly.

Kim has also pledged to “find bipartisan solutions to fix our broken health care system,” “ensure our economy has the support it needs to bounce back stronger than ever,” “stand up against Sacramento-style policies that raise taxes, hurt small businesses and kill jobs” and “ensure we lessen the burden of taxes on struggling families and business to make life more affordable and allow our communities to thrive.”

Kim’s victory avenges her loss to Cisneros in 2018 when she was leading in the vote count and traveled to Washington, D.C., for orientation for newly elected House members, only to be overtaken by Cisneros in late-arriving ballots.

Cisneros won 51.6%-48.4%, 126,002-118,391, in 2018 to succeed Rep. Ed Royce, R-Fullerton, who held the seat from 1993-2019. Kim had been a member of Royce’s staff. Cisneros’ concession came three days Rep. Harley Rouda, D-Newport Beach, conceded defeat to Board of Supervisors Chair Michelle Steel in the coastal 48th Congressional District.

When Kim is sworn-in she will join Steel and Marilyn Strickland, D- Washington, as the first Korean-American women in the House. Kim was born in Incheon, South Korea on Oct. 18, 1962, and spent her childhood in Seoul. She and her family left South Korea in 1975, living first in Guam, where she finished junior high school, and then Hawaii, where she attended high school. Kim has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from USC. She was a member of Royce’s staff for 21 years, both when he was a state senator and a Congressman, as his community liaison and director of Asian affairs.

Kim defeated Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, in 2014, becoming the first Korean-American Republican woman elected to the Legislature. She lost a rematch to Quirk-Silva in 2016.

“As an immigrant to America, I know that the promise of America is alive,” Kim said. “America is a country where an immigrant girl from South Korea can rise to be a representative in the United States Congress. “I will work to continue to keep that promise alive.”

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Cisneros won a record $266 million in the Mega Millions lottery in 2010, buying the ticket at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue in Pico Rivera on his way home from jury duty, disregarding his wife Jacki Wells Cisneros’ desire that he get dinner from KFC.

Cisneros and his wife used their lottery winnings to establish The Gilbert & Jacki Cisneros Foundation, an organization committed to improving the level of Hispanic education.

The couple partnered with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and Pico Rivera to create Generation First Degree Pico Rivera, with the goal of putting a college degree in every Hispanic household in the city.

Cisneros was an officer in the U.S. Navy. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from The George Washington University, and master’s degrees in business administration from Regis University and urban education policy from Brown University.

Cisneros said he would “take some time to reflect on my future and spend time with my family, but I guarantee you all that my commitment to service and my love for our country will remain strong. “Service is in my blood, and I’ll continue every day to work to better my community,” Cisneros said.

California coronavirus surge worsens, prompting new pleas to avoid travel

Sat, 14 Nov 2020 14:28:22 +0000

With California staring down the barrel of another significant coronavirus surge, health officials are recommending residents avoid unnecessary travel — including for Thanksgiving — and urging those who do head out of state to self-quarantine for 14 days when they return.

The move comes amid ominous new signs that California is in the midst of a major new outbreak. Weekly coronavirus cases have doubled in just the last month, from nearly 23,000 cases a week a month ago to almost 48,000 in the seven-day period that ended Thursday, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis.

Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties have seen their combined weekly cases shoot up from about 13,000 to 26,000 over the last month. San Diego County saw its weekly cases rise from about 2,000 to 3,700 over the same time period. The county set a record this week with its highest single-day number of confirmed cases reported: 661.

Officials fear the situation could get much worse if people let down their guard during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

Orange Unified to suspend a before- and after-school childcare program for this school year

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 13:56:58 +0000

Orange Unified School District’s CARES program, which offers before- and after-school child care in the district, will be suspended after Nov. 20 because of low enrollment, the district recently announced.

In a letter sent to its CARES program families, the district said meeting the coronavirus-related regulations for providing childcare has “resulted in the program operating at a deficit of $300,000 a month.”

The suspension of the service is in effect for the duration of the 2020-21 school year. Status of the program for the 2021-22 school year will be announced this coming spring, the letter says.

The CARES program (Centers for Afterschool, Recreation, Enrichment and Safety Expanded Learning Programs) in the Orange district is funded by the fees families pay to have their children in the program. The program did receive some financial support recently from the federal CARES Act financial relief program.

But, OUSD Assistant Superintendent David Rivera said the program lacked the income at this point for it to continue. Various COVID-related restrictions such, as the need for social distancing, limited the number of children the program could serve.

“Without that revenue,” Rivera said, “we couldn’t pay our people. We couldn’t make it financially viable.”

Orange Unified said in the letter that it will offer an after-school EDGE Club, which will be subsidized by the CARES Act money the district received and provided at no cost. Families of essential workers will have priority access to EDGE.

Rivera said the CARES program is the latest of a number of difficulties the district has had to react to since the coronavirus outbreak began.

“Every day brings a new challenge,” he said.

Orange County Registrar Conducts Audit of Local Election in Search of Possible Errors

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 12:50:50 +0000

Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley on Friday will launch an audit in search of any errors that may have been made in the handling of local results, a process he undergoes in every election.

With more than 1.5 million ballots cast on or before Nov. 3, Orange County’s turnout stands at 86.6%. Kelley estimates turnout may reach 87%, a record.

“It’s the largest volume in the county’s 131-year history,” Kelley said.

For decades, county elections officials in California have followed elections by auditing 1% of precinct results, which means recounting those ballots by hand and checking the outcome to make sure it matches machine-counted results, Kelley said. The audit is not required under California law.

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Kelley reassured voters that it is a routine process and not a reflection of complaints of vote fraud from President Donald Trump in his race against former Vice President and unofficial President-Elect Joe Biden.

“The actual reality is as I’ve been saying is this is a quality-control audit that is done every day” in any industry, Kelley said. “This is something important to make sure the validity of the election is sound and the outcomes are the correct outcomes.”

Kelley said he does it “every election, every single one, and usually nobody pays any attention.”

Cries of election fraud and complaints about longer-than-usual tabulating of votes “is exposing the general lack of knowledge of elections that so many people have,” Kelley said. “If they had an understanding of the complexities and the checks and balances and the lengths the system goes through to assure correct outcomes, all of this would subside.”

Kelley plans to use a “risk-limiting audit,” which uses software to
randomly select ballots for election workers to fetch and hand-count. If the manual count results aren’t proportional to the overall machine tallies in a contest, more ballots are pulled from the stacks and counted.

While it’s nearly impossible to have a 100% error-free election, Kelley said the auditing is designed to ensure the errors, if any, did not affect the outcome of any contests. It doesn’t detect voter registration fraud or ineligible people on the voter rolls, but election officials have other ways to check that, and anyone can report those concerns to the Orange County district attorney or California secretary of state.

Kelley’s office has 9,073 votes to count. The Registrar is down to counting same-day registration votes.

Protests in Michigan, Colorado and other states have been taking place since Election Day, led by supporters of Trump who assert that various types of fraud, errors and cheating caused him to lose. On Monday, about 300 demonstrators gathered outside the OC Registrar of Voters’ Santa Ana office to question a voting system they allege is corrupt, though rally organizer Alan Hostetter said they were not protesting Orange County’s results, according to the Orange County Register

Historically a Republican stronghold, Orange County’s political makeup has undergone a substantial shift in recent years. Its 2016 support of Hillary Clinton marked the county’s first time voting for a Democratic presidential candidate since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, the Los Angeles Times reported. In 2019, the county’s number of registered Democrats surpassed that of Republicans for the first time since a brief blue burst in the 1970s.

Nearly 54% of Orange County’s ballots were cast for Biden in the 2020 election, while 44% voted for Trump.

Republican Steven Choi wins reelection over Democrat Melissa Fox in 68th Assembly District

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 17:26:24 +0000

GOP incumbent Steven Choi has won reelection in the 68th Assembly District race against Democrat Melissa Fox, holding a seat for Republicans that Democrats had heavily targeted to flip this cycle.

Fox took a narrow lead as first returns came in, then Choi edged her out as as more ballots were counted on election night. As of Thursday evening, Choi had a bigger lead than there were ballots left to count in all of Orange County, with an edge of 15,695 votes and 9,073 ballots left to tally countywide.

Neither candidate had commented on the results as of Thursday evening, with Choi previously saying he’d wait until all votes were counted.

Heading into Election Day, forecasters were calling the race a toss-up.

Voter registration in the district reflects the county’s rapidly changing political landscape. Before the March primary, Republicans held a two point edge over Democrats. But in the past seven months, registration in AD-68 has flipped blue — though just barely, with Democrats recently holding an advantage of 410 in a district with more than 300,000 voters.

Fox also had a substantial financial advantage this election cycle. She raised $2.5 million and spent $2.4 million on her campaign while Choi, using cash from previous election cycles, had raised $802,118 and spent $1.1 million. Both candidates received more than half of their funds from state parties, with Fox banking $1.3 million from the California Democratic Party while Choi received $474,899 from the California Republican Party.

But Choi’s incumbency, name recognition and record in office gave him the edge, helping him handily fend off his Democratic challenger.

Choi, 76, is a Korean immigrant and former college professor with a doctorate in library sciences. He and his wife have two adult children and a grandson, and he still teaches at the local Kumon Learning Center near his home in Irvine.

Choi’s political career started in 1998, when he was elected to the board of the Irvine Unified School District. In 2004 he won a seat on the Irvine City Council and in 2016 he won his first term in the Assembly.

See the latest election results

During his two terms in Sacramento Choi has introduced bills to boost tax credits, make college more affordable, and protect crime victims. He’s most proud of passing AB 677, aimed at preventing child trafficking through international adoptions.

Fox, 52, has practiced law in Orange County for more than 25 years. Her community work helped her become the only Democrat to win a seat on the Irvine City Council in 2016.

Fox passed on running for reelection to city council so that she could run for this Assembly seat, where she campaigned on pushing for construction of more affordable housing, universal health care, more funding for schools and new environmental protections.

Orange High debuts first S.T.E.M. building of OUSD’s Measure S-funded projects

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 12:24:26 +0000

The initial phase of a $288 million Measure S renovation program involving four high schools in the Orange Unified School District has completed its first project.

Starting Nov. 16, Orange High School students will have access to a newly constructed $52.4 million S.T.E.M. complex, featuring technologically advanced science labs and classrooms, along with well-equipped teaching spaces for students with special needs.

People tour the new Panther Pavilion, the Orange High School Measure S STEM Complex in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
One of the classrooms with individual desks with plexiglas in the new Panther Pavilion, the Orange High School Measure S STEM Complex in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The newly renovated outdoor seating area outside the Panther Pavilion, back left, the Orange High School Measure S STEM Complex in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People tour the classrooms of the new Panther Pavilion, the Orange High School Measure S STEM Complex in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
One of the classrooms of the new Panther Pavilion, the Orange High School Measure S STEM Complex in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People tour the classrooms of the new Panther Pavilion, the Orange High School Measure S STEM Complex in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The new Panther Pavilion, the Orange High School Measure S STEM Complex in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People walk down the hallway as they tour the classrooms of the new Panther Pavilion, the Orange High School Measure S STEM Complex in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People tour the new Panther Pavilion, the Orange High School Measure S STEM Complex in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People tour the newly renovated Little Theater at Orange High School in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. The building was originally built in 1953. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The front of the newly renovated Little Theater at Orange High School in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People tour the lobby of the newly renovated Little Theater at Orange High School in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. The building was originally built in 1953. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The newly renovated Little Theater at Orange High School in Orange on Saturday, November 7, 2020. The building was originally built in 1953. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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“Nov. 16 will be a great day for them,” said Bill Campbell, a member of the Measure S oversight committee. “The students. The faculty. Everybody ought to be excited about it.”

The 7,500-square-foot, two-story complex, which was unveiled to school and district officials on Nov. 7, is situated in the center of the campus and houses four chemistry and eight science classrooms, one general classroom and two living skills classrooms.

Classrooms come with stations for up to 40 students and 75-inch LED monitors and are wired for wireless microphones for teachers and students.

“The tools in here are going to provide amazing learning experiences for our students at Orange High School,” Principal Dennis McCuistion said. “We have exceptional science teachers. We have some very talented science students come through here, and to get these tools in their hands is going to create an academic experience that all students deserve.”

With coronavirus restrictions currently in place, each student desk has been walled in by Plexiglas and no more than 20 students will be in a classroom, McCuistion said. “There is plenty of space to spread kids out.”

The chemistry classrooms are also equipped with such safety features as fume hoods, goggle sanitizing cabinets, emergency gas shutoffs and an emergency eyewash/shower.

The Living skills classrooms include a kitchen with a refrigerator, clothes washing machine, dryer and stove, and an elevator provides easy access between floors for students with special needs.

Restrooms in the living skills space are large and have lifts, safety rails and other equipment.

“We have not had a bathroom that was suitable for students with medical needs and now we have it,” McCuistion said.

The S.T.E.M. complex also has male, female and gender neutral restrooms.

“The way we are going to be able to serve all levels, from the medically fragile to our honors and A.P students, I’m just very impressed and overwhelmed,” school board Trustee Rick Ledesma said. “The amount of technology that is in every classroom, it is going to really be able to help the teacher.”

A new administration building at the southwest corner of the campus is planned for a second phase of the Measure S-funded projects.

Similar additions and renovations are also underway at Villa Park, Canyon and El Modena high schools, funded by Measure S, which voters approved in 2016 to raise $288 million for campus upgrades and renovations through the sale of bonds.

Each school is receiving $72 million for projects including new science centers, career training facilities and special education classrooms.

Upgrades at Villa Park and El Modena are scheduled to be finished in the spring, and completion is expected in the fall of 2021 for Canyon High.

The four high schools are also getting infrastructure upgrades and retrofits for seismic safety.

Residents within the district’s boundaries are being taxed an extra assessment on their property taxes to repay the bonds – for 2020-21 that is $16.64 per $100,000 of assessed property value.

The district has also wrapped up other projects on campuses recently that were paid for through funding sources other than Measure S, including a new Fred Kelly Stadium at El Modena High, new running tracks and smaller stadiums at other campuses and the renovated Little Theater at Orange High.

Republicans pushing back the 2018 ‘blue wave’ in Orange County

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 15:15:42 +0000

Two years ago marked a monumental shift for California politics: Four districts in the then-Republican bastion of Orange County flipped blue, ushering in four Democrats to the House of Representatives.

But 2020 is shaping up as a reversal of that blue wave, although how big a retrenchment it will be remains an open question. With few ballots left to count, Republicans have taken back at least one seat in Orange County and padded their vote lead in other swing districts across Southern California.

In a major win for the GOP, California 48th District Congressman Harley Rouda, a Democrat, conceded to his Republican opponent, Michelle Steel on Tuesday, in one of several hard-fought races in areas that until recently were considered conservative strongholds. Steel remained ahead of Rouda by 2%, or 7,000 votes, as of Tuesday.

O.C. Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said all in-person votes and 99% of mail-in ballots have been counted, leaving about 28,000 ballots to be processed. Kelley said he anticipates the final tally to be complete in about two weeks.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

Anaheim Man Charged With Stalking Ex-Girlfriend, Stabbing Two of Her Friends

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 05:15:05 +0000

A 28-year-old Anaheim man was charged Tuesday with stalking an ex-girlfriend and stabbing two of her friends as he confronted her in Fullerton.

Renner Efrain AplicanoGuevara allegedly confronted his ex-girlfriend about 10 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of an apartment complex at Yorba Linda Boulevard and Deerpark Drive, said Fullerton Police Department Sgt. Billy Phu.

A friend who was with her attempted to defend her, triggering a fight in which he was stabbed, Phu said. Another man, who is also a friend of the victim, was stabbed when he attempted to defend her, Phu said.

AplicanoGuevara is also accused of assaulting his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend, Phu said.

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AplicanoGuevara fled the area, but was arrested a short time later near his residence, Phu said.

The two friends, 27 and 35 years old, were treated for non-life- threatening knife wounds, Phu said.

AplicanoGuevara was charged with two counts each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon and single counts each of criminal threats, stalking corporal injury on an ex-girlfriend, robbery, vandalism, possession of an assault weapon and possession of a short-barreled shotgun, all felonies.

AplicanoGuevara was also charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of a gun with the identification numbers removed or changed, aggravated trespass and resisting arrest.

AplicanoGuevara also faces sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury on a victim in a domestic violence incident and personal use of a deadly weapon.

AplicanoGuevara’s arraignment Tuesday in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana was postponed until Dec. 3, according to court records. He was being held on $500,000 bail.

Orange County Registrar to Launch Audit in Search of Possible Errors in Local Election Results

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 20:52:47 +0000

Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley on Friday will launch an audit in search of any errors that may have been made in the handling of local results, according to a statement from his office.

With more than 1.5 million ballots cast on or before Nov. 3, Orange County’s turnout stands at nearly 85%.

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For decades, county elections officials in California have followed elections by auditing 1% of precinct results, which means recounting those ballots by hand and checking the outcome to make sure it matches machine counted results, The Orange County Register reported. The audit is not required under California law.

Kelley plans to use a “risk-limiting audit,” which uses software to randomly select ballots for election workers to fetch and hand-count. If the manual count results aren’t proportional to the overall machine tallies in a contest, more ballots are pulled from the stacks and counted, according to the Register.

While it’s nearly impossible to have a 100% error-free election, Kelley is quoted by the Register as saying the auditing is designed to ensure the errors, if any, did not affect the outcome of any contests. It doesn’t detect voter registration fraud or ineligible people on the voter rolls, but election officials have other ways to check that, and anyone can report those concerns to the Orange County District Attorney or California Secretary of State.

As of Monday, Kelley had about 30,000 ballots left to tally.

Protests in Michigan, Colorado and other states have been taking place since Election Day, led by supporters of President Donald Trump who assert that various types of fraud, errors and cheating caused him to lose. On Monday, about 300 demonstrators gathered outside the OC Registrar of Voters’ Santa Ana office to question a voting system they allege is corrupt, though rally organizer Alan Hostetter said they were not protesting Orange County’s results, according to the Register

People lined Grand Avenue in Santa Ana during a pro-Trump election integrity rally at the Orange County Registrar of Voters offices in Santa Ana, calling attention to what organizers see as a broken national election process.

Nearly 54% of Orange County’s ballots were cast for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, according to data from The Times, while 44% voted for Donald Trump.

OC Coroner Hoping Computer Image Will Help ID Body Found in 1996

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 20:11:59 +0000

The Orange County coroner’s office Tuesday released a new computer-assisted image that investigators hope will help identify a young man whose body was found in Trabuco Canyon nearly 24 years ago.

On Dec. 13, 1996, investigators responded to reports of human remains found in a wilderness area east of Trabuco Creek Road in the unincorporated area of Trabuco Canyon.

“At the time, it was estimated the remains had been there up to two years, with environmental factors affecting their condition,” according to Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

“Investigators believe the decedent went missing sometime in 1995 or 1996,” Braun said. “Based on initial anthropological estimates from 1996, it was believed this unknown male subject was around 15-19 years old, approximately 5-feet-2 to 5-feet-8, with a medium build.”

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A dental report showed the decedent’s teeth were in poor condition, and data were entered into a Department of Justice database.

“In 2020, the Sheriff’s Department contracted with the DNA Doe Project in an attempt to identify the subject,” Braun said.

“Initial genealogical DNA examinations confirmed he was Hispanic or Native American in origin, and not primarily Caucasian as had initially been suspected. Additionally, based on further genetic testing, it is believed the subject is likely from a remote/rural area in Latin America due to the very low threshold of genetic matches,” she added.

“In fact, the threshold is so low that at this time, familial DNA analysis cannot be further pursued at this time because the population demographic to date is underrepresented in genealogical databases.”

In 2018, the Coroner Division of the OCSD again partnered with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in an attempt to generate leads that might deliver an identification.

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A computed tomography — or CT — scan of the skull was created and submitted to the NCMEC, which used the latest reconstruction techniques to develop renderings of what the victim might have looked like, Braun said.

With the new information, the NCMEC modified their initial sketch from 2019 to produce a new likeness that reflects the suspected Latin American decent of John Doe.

“Over the years, there have been occasional leads, yet he has not gotten his name back,” said Kelly Keyes, OC’s supervising deputy coroner. “As with all of our unidentified cases, which date back to the 1950s and includes nearly 100 cases, we continue to review these cases with the hope that John Doe will finally get a name,” Keyes said.

“Sometimes seeing a picture can spark a memory and that could lead to information,” Keyes said. “We’re looking to match that face to a name so we can bring closure to his family.”

Anyone who has any information about the victim can contact the Coroner Division at 714-647-7000 or coroner@ocsd.org, and reference case number 96-07901-MU.

O.C. Supervisor Michelle Steel defeats Rep. Harley Rouda, flipping SoCal congressional seat back to GOP

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 19:32:54 +0000

Republican Michelle Steel defeated first-term Rep. Harley Rouda on Tuesday in a Southern California district, only the second time in more than two decades that a GOP candidate in the state has defeated an incumbent Democrat.

Rouda captured Orange County’s 48th District in 2018 from longtime Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, part of a Democratic sweep of seven House seats in California.

Steel joins Washington state’s Marilyn Strickland as the first Korean American women elected to Congress. Strickland, a Democrat, last week won the open 10th Congressional District southwest of Seattle.

Steel won about 51% of the votes in a year when Joe Biden trounced President Donald Trump in the state. Trump was backed by about 33% of California voters.

Steel, who heads the Orange County board of supervisors, benefited from the district’s Republican registration edge and also surmounted widespread distaste for Trump in the strongly Democratic state.

The campaign was marked by nasty campaign ads and finger-pointing. Steel argued that Rouda would raise taxes, while the incumbent depicted Steel as a corrupt politician.

Orange County this year is one of the crucial House battlegrounds in California and the U.S.

Known for its beaches, suburbs and sunshine, the county was a foundational block in the rise of the modern conservative movement and President Ronald Reagan compared it to a Republican heaven. But like much of the state, the district has been in political transition, with its once largely white population becoming more diverse while its percentage of registered Republicans slipped.

In a sign of dramatic change, Democrats seized four House districts all or partly in the county in 2018, placing a vast stretch of the Los Angeles metropolitan area under Democratic control in the U.S. House. Democrats now outnumber registered Republicans in the county by about 2 points.

Steel, who is married to Republican National Committeeman Shawn Steel, emphasized her work on the county board and longtime opposition to higher taxes, while also criticizing Democratic leadership in state government.

Rouda, a former businessman, sought to position himself as a moderate problem-solver and highlighted his efforts to work across party lines.

Prominent issues in the race included health care and the coronavirus..

This victory has been hard-fought and hard-won, and I could not be more humbled to have your support nor more honored to serve our community in Congress. Now, let's get to work. #CA48 pic.twitter.com/5aVvsvABiw
— Michelle Steel (@MichelleSteelCA) November 10, 2020

Thanks to the incredible energy brought by our thousands of grassroots volunteers, I was proud to be the first Democrat ever to represent #CA48.

Serving the people here has been the honor of my life. https://t.co/up1YVZTnuU
— Harley Rouda (@HarleyRouda) November 10, 2020

LAPD Officer Arrested in Auto Theft From Used Car Dealership in Orange

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 17:11:37 +0000

A Los Angeles Police Department officer has been arrested in a theft last year from an Orange County used car dealership.

Officer Matthew Calleros, 45, was arrested Monday in Los Angeles on suspicion of auto theft and possession of a stolen vehicle. He was arrested at work, Orange police said.

Calleros was booked into Orange County Jail, but has since been released.

An initial court date was not listed in jail records. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney.

In a statement, the LAPD said it is aware of the criminal investigation by the Orange Police Department involving Calleros.

“We are fully cooperating with the Orange Police Department and we have also initiated our own personnel investigation,” the department said in its statement. “Officer Calleros has been assigned home and his peace officer powers suspended pending the outcome of both investigations.”

Details about the Oct. 25 theft at used car lot in Orange were not immediately available.

Refresh this page for updates.

UCLA, UC Irvine nurses rally over COVID exposure, staff shortages

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 12:01:31 +0000

LOS ANGELES — Registered nurses employed by UCLA are rallying Tuesday to demand that medical workers be informed when they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 and be properly tested — the way UCLA athletes are tested.

At the same time, nurses working at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange will hold a rally to alert the public to what they consider insufficient staffing at the facility.

The anti-UCLA rallies will both set to start at 11 a.m. In the Los Angeles area, nurses will rally outside the Michigan Operation Center, a training facility at 2211 Michigan Ave. in Santa Monica. The rally in Orange will take place outside 101 The City Drive.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, the union that represents the protesters, including 4,000 UCLA nurses, said in a statement that the action in Santa Monica will take place “to demand that hospital administration notify frontline workers when they have been exposed to COVID-19 and to guarantee timely access to COVID testing for all nurses and health care professionals.”

“It is appalling that nurses and other health care workers are not being notified when they have been exposed to COVID-19,” said emergency room nurse Marcia Santini. “Since the start of this pandemic, there has been minimal notification of health care workers, and we have seen nurses refused testing after possible exposure.

UCLA hospital workers are rallying Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, at the Michigan Operation Center training facility in Santa Monica to demand they be informed when exposed to COVID-19 and be properly tested. (Google Street View)

“Yet, we see that UCLA has implemented an aggressive testing program for athletes, including the daily rapid testing for the football team. As nurses, we are calling on UCLA to allow us to use our own clinical judgment to determine if and when we should be tested, in order to better protect the health and safety of our patients and communities.”

The rally in Orange will serve to “raise alarm about short staffing, lack of equipment and emergency department crowding,” the union said in a statement.

“We are very concerned that as we head into the winter and the possibility of a winter surge in COVID-19 cases, we may not be fully prepared to safely care for our patients,” said UCI emergency room nurse Maureen Berry, the hospital’s chief nurse representative for her union.

“UCI is the only Level 1 trauma center in Orange county as well as a cardiac center, stroke center, burn center and nationally recognized cancer center. Patients come to us with life-threatening injuries and illness, yet we are often working without enough nurses in our emergency department. The lack of adequate staffing in our emergency department may lead to long wait times and possible treatment delays.

“We want to provide the best care in a timely and professional manner to our patients and our community. We cannot do that if we are understaffed on a regular basis.”

Berry added that “We recruit and train many nurses, including new graduates, who come to work here for a year or two, but they leave for more competitive pay and better working conditions. We owe it to the community create a hospital environment that attracts and retains experienced nurses who will stay at the hospital for years providing the highest quality of care to our patients.”

Orange County will conduct voluntary audit of 2020 presidential election ballots

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 22:19:11 +0000

Orange County has announced that it will conduct a voluntary audit of its 2020 presidential election ballots to ensure the integrity of results.

The risk-limiting audit is not required under California law, the Orange County registrar of voters said, but the procedure is meant to provide “strong statistical evidence” that the outcome of the election is correct.

“Conducting a risk-limiting audit is an excellent way to audit elections and provide an important check on the integrity of the election process,” Registrar Neal Kelley said in a news release. “This is a valuable opportunity to utilize the enhanced auditing capability of Orange County’s voting system, while at the same time ensuring that the outcomes are true and correct.”

Nearly 54% of Orange County’s ballots were cast for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, according to data from The Times, while 44% voted for Donald Trump.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

OC Set to Conduct Ballot Audit of Presidential General Election Results

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 09:27:05 +0000

Orange County announced Sunday that it will conduct a risk-limiting audit of ballots aimed at strengthening the integrity of the 2020 presidential election process by providing “strong statistical evidence that the election outcome is correct.”

The risk-limiting audit will take place on Nov. 13 at the Registrar of Voters building located at 1300 South Grand Avenue, Building C in Santa Ana, and will be conducted in addition to the one percent tally of precincts, according to Registrar officials.

“Conducting a risk-limiting audit is an excellent way to audit elections and provide an important check on the integrity of the election process,” said Neal Kelly with the OC Registrar of Voters. “This is a valuable opportunity to utilize the enhanced auditing capability of Orange County’s voting system, while at the same time ensuring that the outcomes are true and correct.”

Registrar officials point out that the ballot comparison audit is not required under state law but offers a high probability of correcting an outcome that wouldn’t match a full hand count of ballots.

“The audit itself requires human beings to examine and verify more ballots in close contests and fewer ballots in contests with wider margins,” said the Registrar of Voters.

The Registrar of Voters will pick a random seed that consists of at least 20 digits by rolling a 10-sided die to generate each digit. They will then randomly select members of the public who attend the audit to take turns rolling the die or designate one or more staff members to take turns rolling the die if not enough members of the public show up.

“Establishing the seed in this manner results in a properly random, and verifiable, selection of individual ballots for examination and audit, and ensures the integrity and statistical validity of the risk-limiting audit,” said the Registrar of Voters.

The election results to be audited will be published on the OC Registrar of Voters website before the seed selection process, and will publish the seed immediately after it’s established, officials said.

Orange County backed Biden, but Republicans poised for dramatic comeback after ‘blue wave’

Sat, 07 Nov 2020 14:59:57 +0000

Like many conservative voters in Orange County, Carolyn Ehret, a longtime Republican in Laguna Niguel, could not stomach voting for Donald Trump a second time. So she split her ticket to support Joe Biden and her district’s Republican congressional candidate, Michelle Steel.

“Trump’s just gutted me, he’s not a good example for any of us,” said Ehret. “We need to become civilized again.”

Her vote reflects a lot about where Orange County, once a bastion of right-wing conservatism, stands politically these days, teetering between red and blue. Biden appears headed to victory, and so does Steel.

Democrats have made inroads over the last 30 years and now have a 3.5% advantage in voter registration that is likely to continue to grow. But the GOP is still a potent force in Orange County, with Republicans running the county power structure, thus controlling key entry points into politics.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

4-Year-Old Honored for Saving 2-Year-Old Brother From Drowning in Family Pool

Sat, 07 Nov 2020 01:39:39 +0000

A pint-sized hero in Orange County was honored Friday for saving his 2-year-old brother’s life after the toddler fell into the family pool.

Mason Ochoa donned a firefighter uniform Friday after he saved his baby brother from drowning back on Oct. 20.

His 2-year-old brother Nicolas fell into the family pool. When Mason heard the security alarm, he grabbed him and kept him above water, then yelled for help.

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A frightening 911 recording captured the terror in the voice of Jose Ochoa, the boy’s father, as he describes what his wife witnessed.

“My wife told me right now that my son fell in the pool and he wasn’t breathing, that he’s crying right now, but that is face is purple and he’s — she can’t talk right now I’m on my way to them,” can be heard in the recording.

“That’s what was reported to us. He was non-responsive and not breathing,” paramedic Mike Bostick said.

Initially Stephanie Ochoa was shaken. Moments later she was grateful. Her youngest boy was not hurt. He was alert and alive.

To honor Mason, Placentia firefighters gave the 4-year-old a taste of the real thing: practicing his skills with a fire hose.

Then he got a chance to see what it’s like to be a paramedic.

There were more honors and accolades from the mayor to the fire chief.

“Individuals in this profession gravitate to this calling because they have a need to act,” Placentia Fire Department Chief John Van Gieson said.

Mason’s grandfather Raul Velez says there is always a fence around the pool but it had been taken down for an open house.

“He’s my hero,” Velez said.

The fire chief joked Mason’s got a job there if he wants one — in about 14 years.

Concerns Mount That Orange County Could Slip Back Into More Restrictive Purple Tier During COVID-19 Pandemic

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 23:19:04 +0000

Nine more people died as a result of COVID-19 in Orange County, health care officials reported Friday as another 309 diagnoses of coronavirus rolled in, heightening concern that the county could slip back into the most restrictive, purple tier.

The death toll stands at 1,503 and the cumulative case count is at 61,421.

It is possible that the cases reported on Friday are spread out over the past couple of weeks as they come from numerous testing sources that submit the results in different ways, Orange County CEO Frank Kim said.

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“For whatever reason, those entities are submitting results in a somewhat delayed fashion to the state,” Kim said. “When the state gets them they put it in the daily buckets based on the date of sample collection.”

Still, the rise in cases throughout the Southland is undeniable, Kim said.

“Our numbers still look OK,” compared with many other neighboring counties, Kim said.

Orange County officials this week emphasized the importance of social distancing and mask usage to tamp down the recent surge in COVID-19 as case
rates continue to rise.

“While Orange County remains in the red tier, it is important we continue that trend so that we can eventually go downward to the next tier,” said Orange County Board Chairwoman Michelle Steel at the county’s weekly news conference on its COVID-19 efforts.

“As we get closer to the holiday season, it is important … we continue to wear a face mask when in public and practice social distancing when possible,” Steel said.

Of the deaths reported on Friday, three were skilled nursing facility residents.

The rate of deaths has been trending down over the past few weeks.

From Oct. 25 through last Saturday, there were 39 deaths reported, up from 35 the week before, but lower than 69 the previous week. Since Sunday, 21 deaths have been reported.

The number of hospitalizations related to the virus went from 178 Thursday to 177 Friday, with the number of intensive care unit patients ticking down from 76 to 72, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

The change in the three-day average of hospitalized patients went from -2.7% to -0.7%. The county has 38% of its intensive care unit beds and 64% of its ventilators available.

According to OCHCA data, 1,160,473 COVID-19 tests have been conducted since the start of the pandemic, including 12,034 reported Friday. There have been 54,645 documented recoveries.

The county’s positivity rate, which is reported each Tuesday, but was reported Wednesday this week because of the election, rose from 3.2% to 3.6%, and the daily case rate per 100,000 population increased from 5.1 last week to 6.

The county’s Health Equity Quartile Positivity Rate, which measures a county’s response to hot spots, decreased from 6% to 5.7%. The county has to reach at least 5.2% in that metric to move into the orange tier from the red tier in the state’s coronavirus monitoring system.

One of the peskiest issues county officials have been dealing with is the socializing among teens and young adults.

“It’s a major issue,” said Dr. Matthew Zahn, medical director of the county’s communicable disease control division.

“I think our biggest goals, our most consistent goals, is reaching out to these populations,” Zahn said.

Zahn said efforts are being made to reach out to students on campus to reinforce the importance of social and physical distancing and mask usage.

He said that often, however, on campus or at a work place, there is more mindfulness of social distancing, but not so much after class or work.

“The natural human habit is to let their guard down in social settings,” Zahn said. “And it’s the social settings where so much spread happens.”

Health officials have been warning of a potential rise in cases during the holidays as residents seek to fraternize more and stay inside more often because of the changing weather.

“There seems to be an inevitability over the next couple of months,” Zahn said. “But it’s important we don’t let our guard down.”

Zahn advised residents to just celebrate the holidays in a different way than usual “because there is a risk there” of spreading the virus with family get-togethers.

He also commented on increasing youth sports activities in which parents and children are traveling out of states for competitions. He said the traveling back and forth isn’t so much a concern, but the “crowding” that sports contests encourage “is a major driver of risk.”

When asked about a swim meet in Irvine this weekend, Zahn said he wasn’t aware of it, but was concerned the organizers had not reached out to the agency for guidance.

Officials have said the daily average of new cases would have to come down to about 130 for Orange County to make the orange tier, allowing for more businesses to reopen and for some already open to increase their capacity.

However, if cases rise too much, the county could slip back into the most-restrictive purple tier.

Orange County’s unadjusted rate per 100,000 is at 6.1, but the volume of testing brought it down to 6, Orange County CEO Frank Kim said Wednesday.

Kanye West receives thousands of votes from SoCal residents

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 03:27:57 +0000

As the nation watches a tight presidential race and agonizes over the future of American democracy, Kim Kardashian’s husband received thousands of votes from Orange County residents.

As of noon Wednesday, West and his Independent Party running mate Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente Guerra received 3,641 votes for president from Orange County residents. West was listed as a vice presidential candidate on the California ballot.

It won’t be good enough to put the man who called himself “the greatest artist that God has ever created” in the Oval Office. West conceded defeat late Tuesday after falling behind Joe Biden and Donald Trump by tens of millions of votes.

West ran on a platform that included restoration of prayer in schools, expansion of education opportunities, investment in renewable energy, and criminal justice reform. “In our future, we will H.E.A.L.,” his campaign website reads. “Hold Everyone Accountable to Love.”

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires in OC Nearly 100% Contained

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 11:53:02 +0000

Containment of the Blue Ridge and Silverado wildfires, which damaged homes in Yorba Linda and Irvine, causing thousands of residents to evacuate, were 97% and 98% contained, respectively, Thursday morning.

Firefighters mopped up hot spots and worked to extend containment lines. Full containment of both fires was expected by Nov. 10.

All roads affected by the blazes have been reopened, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

The two fires started Oct. 26, first the Silverado Fire at 6:52 a.m. off the Foothill Transportation Corridor (241) in the Irvine area, then the Blue Ridge Fire at 2:32 p.m. north of the 91 Freeway in Yorba Linda.

The Blue Ridge Fire has burned 13,694 acres, destroyed one structure and damaged 10, according to CalFire. The Silverado Fire has blackened 12,466 acres, destroyed five structures and damaged nine.

At last report, two firefighters remained in critical condition after suffering second-and third-degree burns in the Silverado Fire, which was driven by powerful Santa Ana winds.

The cause of both fires was unknown.

GOP candidates hold slim leads in O.C. congressional races for seats held by Democrats

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 01:14:35 +0000

A string of U.S. House races in California remained undecided Wednesday but Republicans had slim leads in a handful of closely fought districts, even as President Donald Trump was thrashed by Joe Biden in the heavily Democratic state.

In Orange County, Biden outpaced Trump by 10 points, according to preliminary counts. But Republican House candidates Michelle Steel and Young Kim were narrowly ahead of Democratic Reps. Harley Rouda and Gil Cisneros, respectively, though a large number of votes remained uncounted.

Former Republican Reps. Darrell Issa and David Valadao also were leading their races.

Memories of 2018 remained vivid, when Republicans ended election night leading in key House fights but eventually lost seven seats, including four all or partly in the one-time GOP stronghold of Orange County, after late-arriving ballots tilted in favor of Democrats.

It remained unclear which way those uncounted votes would break this year. However, the Republican campaigns were encouraged to see Steel and Kim outperforming Trump, who is broadly unpopular in California outside his loyal base.

If 2018 was a referendum on the Republican president “the congressional races were more about whether the incumbent members of Congress were serving their constituents well or not,” said Sam Oh, general consultant to the GOP candidates in both races.

Based on results so far, “It was very clear to voters they deserved better,” Oh added.

Democrats, meanwhile, remained optimistic in a state the party dominates, controlling every statewide office and both chambers of the Legislature. Republicans hold just seven of the state’s 53 U.S. House seats.

Nationally, House Democrats were looking at a smaller majority next year, as they lost at least seven incumbents without ousting a single Republican lawmaker.

“We expanded this party that reflects America, that looks like America,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a conference call with reporters.

California’s GOP has been fading years but the party was hoping for a comeback in House districts the party lost to Democrats two years ago.

Among Democrats perhaps most at risk was Rouda, who was narrowly trailing Steel in a district with a 5-point Republican registration edge.

Rouda seized the seat in 2018 in an upset over longtime Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. The loss carried symbolic weight in a county known as a foundation block in the Reagan revolution.

In other close races:

—Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia was narrowly trailing Democrat Christy Smith in the 25th District north of Los Angeles.

—In the Central Valley’s 21st District, Valadao was leading Democrat TJ Cox, who unseated him two years ago by 862 votes.

_The 50th District anchored in San Diego County, saw Issa, a prominent Trump supporter, build about a 12,000-vote lead over Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar.

While Democrats worked to link GOP candidates to the unpopular Trump, Republicans sought to make Sacramento’s lopsided government a defining issue, faulting Democrats for the homeless crisis plaguing big cities, high taxes and government coronavirus orders that shuttered businesses and closed gyms, beaches and parks.

Rouda's district is entirely in Orange County, which was once so reliably conservative it was known as “Reagan country.” But in Cisneros' 39th District, a large piece of it stretches into heavily Democratic Los Angeles County, which could benefit the Democrat. The district also runs into a small section of more conservative San Bernardino County.

Democrats performed strongly in other seats the party captured two years ago.

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter won re-election in Orange County's 45th District, while U.S. Rep. Mike Levin captured another term in the 49th District that straddled San Diego and Orange counties and was represented by Issa until 2018.

Republicans believed their chances were strengthened this year by a crop of candidates with notable personal stories. Garcia, the son of a Mexican immigrant father, is a former Navy fighter pilot. Steel is a South Korean immigrant, Kim is a former state lawmaker who was born in South Korea and grew up in Guam.

It's been a rarity in recent years for a Republican to claim a House seat from Democrats in the state.

When Garcia captured the 25th District in May, it marked the first time in over two decades that a Republican won a Democratic-held California congressional district.

Biden ahead in Orange County, a former conservative stronghold

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 20:49:38 +0000

For the second straight presidential election, a Democratic candidate appears poised to splash a coat of blue over the former conservative stronghold of Orange County.

But perhaps the most surprising thing about former Vice President Joe Biden’s early lead in the county — once so reliably ruby red that President Reagan quipped it’s “where the good Republicans go before they die” — is the fact that it was not unexpected.

“That’s not at all surprising, given the registration and the other trends that are making this a purple county,” said Fred Smoller, an associate professor of political science at Chapman University.

Biden was leading President Trump in the county, 54% to 44.2%, Wednesday morning, with a margin of more than 125,000 votes, according to the Orange County registrar of voters office.

Read the full story on LATime s.com.

UFC Champ Tito Ortiz Prevails in a 15-Candidate Brawl for Huntington Beach City Council

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 18:18:26 +0000

Mixed-martial arts fighter Tito Ortiz came out on top in a 15-candidate rumble for three seats on the Huntington Beach City Council.

HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY COUNCIL

100% reporting
- Tito Ortiz
  
  14%
  
  34,901
- Dan Kalmick
  
  11%
  
  26,976
- Natalie Moser
  
  11%
  
  26,641
- Gracey Van Der Mark
  
  8%
  
  19,755
- Oscar Rodriguez
  
  8%
  
  19,111
- Brian Burley
  
  7%
  
  18,124
- Matthew Harper
  
  7%
  
  17,372
- Casey McKeon
  
  7%
  
  16,804
- Jeff Morin
  
  6%
  
  14,532
- William O'Connell
  
  6%
  
  14,485
- Sonya Green
  
  4%
  
  9,663
- Eric Silkenson
  
  4%
  
  8,696
- John Briscoe
  
  3%
  
  8,243
- Thomas Matthew Laparne
  
  3%
  
  7,206
- Amory Hanson
  
  1%
  
  2,283

Ortiz, 45, was atop the field early Wednesday with 14 percent of the vote (34,901 votes).

The conservative and vocal supporter of President Trump entered the fray in the seaside Orange County community after two incumbents announced they wouldn’t be running again and a third termed-out. Ortiz used “Make Huntington Beach Safe Again” as a campaign slogan.

He appeared on and was fired by Donald Trump on “The Celebrity Apprentice” in 2008.

The longtime UFC light heavyweight champion — aka the Huntington Beach Bad Boy — had significant name recognition in a crowded field. A Huntington Beach High School graduate, Ortiz made his UFC debut in 1997 and quickly ascended to become one of the sport’s biggest stars.

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“People know where I came from, they know my views, they know what I stand for,” Ortiz said Monday night at an event hosted by Huntington Beach Awareness, the LA Times reported. “They’re mad at all of the politicians coming in here and doing what they’ve been doing for the last 10 years. It’s not working. Now it’s about the patriots stepping up and fighting for what’s theirs, and this is ours. I was born and raised here. I’m living the American Dream and I don’t want to lose it.”

Huntington Beach Planning Commissioner Dan Kalmick finished second. Natalie Moser, chairperson of the Huntington Beach Human Relations Task Force, was in third place.

GOP hopes for California House comeback rest on tight races

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 15:22:43 +0000

A handful of U.S. House contests in California appeared headed for close finishes as Republicans sought to gain ground after losing a string of seats to Democrats in a 2018 rout.

In a sign of the uphill fight for Republicans, President Donald Trump lost the heavily Democratic state to Joe Biden in a landslide Tuesday. The fate of GOP candidates in closely fought districts could hinge on whether voter disdain for Trump also creates a drag on candidates further down the ballot.

In the 50th District anchored in San Diego County, Republican former Rep. Darrell Issa, a prominent Trump supporter, trailed early but by early Wednesday had built an 8,000-vote lead in his race. In the 25th District north of Los Angeles, Republican Rep. Mike Garcia, another vocal Trump booster, was trailing Democrat Christy Smith by about 3,000 votes.

A large number of ballots went uncounted Tuesday in a year of widespread mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic, which could leave the outcome of close races in doubt for days or weeks.

Two years ago, Democrats pulled off a series of upsets as suburban voters nationally recoiled from the Trump agenda, grabbing seven GOP-held districts, including four all or partly in the one-time Republican stronghold of Orange County.

Those losses were humiliations for the state GOP, which has seen its standing with voters steadily erode over a generation. Republicans hold only seven of the state’s 53 House seats, the party hasn’t won a statewide race since 2006 and registered Democrats outnumber GOP voters by nearly 2 to 1.

The party this year sought to claw back at least some of those seats, believing its candidates would be lifted by issues from resentment toward Sacramento's long-running coronavirus orders to frustration with high taxes.

Republicans have high hopes for a comeback in Orange County, which was once considered a national GOP stronghold.

In the coastal 48th District, Republican Michelle Steel chased down first-term Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda, after he opened an early lead. Incomplete results had Steel with a small edge.

Rouda seized the seat in 2018 in an upset over then-Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who had served for decades. The loss carried symbolic weight in a county known as a foundation block in the Reagan revolution.

Steel, well known as the head of the county Board of Supervisors, benefits from a GOP registration edge in the district. Taxes and health care have been prominent issues.

Another close race was underway in the neighboring 39th District.

Democrat Gil Cisneros captured the demographically diverse district in 2018, and jumped out to an early edge Tuesday in his rematch with Republican Young Kim, a former state lawmaker. But she closed the margin and opened a tissue-thin lead.

Cisneros, a Navy veteran and $266 million lottery jackpot winner who founded a charitable foundation with his wife, has depicted Kim as a lockstep supporter of Trump, while she has argued that Cisneros didn’t live up to his promise to be an independent voice in Washington, instead falling in line with Pelosi.

In the 25th District, Democratic state lawmaker Smith was holding a narrow lead over Garcia, a former fighter pilot and defense industry executive.

The contest was a rematch from May, when Garcia won a special election after the seat was left vacant by the resignation of former Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, who stepped down amid a House ethics probe involving allegations of sexual misconduct.

Democrats had attacked Garcia as a Trump loyalist out of step with the district, which cuts through suburbs and small ranches in northern Los Angeles County and a slice of Ventura County that is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Garcia has railed against high taxes, heavy regulation and Sacramento's liberal mindset.

Issa was the favorite in the conservative-leaning 50th District, which Trump carried by 15 points in 2016. He had been a national figure as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee from 2011 to January 2015, emerging as a chief antagonist of President Barack Obama.

But the surprisingly close race suggested that he might have been hurt by his close ties to Trump in an election in which the president was trounced in the state, or that some voters were uncomfortable with his district-hopping.

Issa, a car alarm magnate who at one time was the wealthiest member of Congress, earlier represented the neighboring 49th District, but nearly lost the seat in 2016 before deciding not to run for reelection two years later.

The 50th District was held by Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter until he resigned earlier this year after pleading guilty to a corruption charge. The 31-year-old Campa-Najjar nearly ousted Hunter in 2018 despite the district’s conservative tilt.

Another closer-than-expected contest was shaping up in the Republican-leaning rural 8th District along the Nevada border. GOP candidate Jay Obernolte was leading Democrat Christine Bubser by about 4 percentage points for the open seat.

In the Central Valley, Republican former Rep. David Valadao was in a back-and-forth fight with Democratic Rep. TJ Cox, who unseated him two years ago by 862 votes.

The Central Valley district has a wide Democratic registration advantage but has shown a willingness to embrace Republican candidates before. Valadao endorsed Trump this time after withholding his support in 2016 — a risk in a district the president lost by 15 points. But he also stressed an independent streak and an ability to work across the political divide.

High-profile House races in California appear headed for close finishes

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 08:53:03 +0000

A string of marquee U.S. House contests in California appeared headed for close finishes as Republicans sought to reclaim seats the party surrendered to Democrats in a 2018 rout.

In a sign of the uphill fight for Republicans, President Donald Trump lost the heavily Democratic state to Joe Biden in a landslide. The fate of GOP candidates in toss-up districts in Orange County, the Central Valley and the Los Angeles area could turn on whether voter disdain for Trump trickles down the ballot.

In the 50th District anchored in San Diego County, Republican former Rep. Darrell Issa, a prominent Trump supporter, was in a tight fight in his attempt to return to Congress. In the 25th District north of Los Angeles, Republican Rep. Mike Garcia, another unabashed Trump booster, was trailing Democrat Christy Smith. But in the Central Valley, Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, one of Trump's strongest allies in Congress, had an edge over Democrat Phil Arballo.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was easily reelected, while GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy was leading his race.

A large number of ballots were expected to go uncounted Tuesday in a year of extensive mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic, which could leave the outcome of close races in doubt for days or weeks.

Those losses were humiliations for the state GOP, which has seen its standing with voters steadily erode.

Republican presidential candidates carried California in nine of 10 presidential elections from 1952 to 1988. But the state has become increasingly Democratic with its diversifying population.

Republicans hold only seven of the state’s 53 House seats, the party hasn’t won a statewide race since 2006 and registered Democrats outnumber GOP voters by nearly 2 to 1.

The key contests:

A BATTLEGROUND AT THE EDGE OF LOS ANGELES

Incomplete results showed Democratic state lawmaker Smith with a slim edge over Garcia in the swing 25th District.

The contest was a rematch, after Garcia captured the vacant seat in a May special election against Smith. The district, cutting through suburbs and small ranches in northern Los Angeles County and hitched to a slice of Ventura County that is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, has a Democratic registration edge.

Democrat Katie Hill captured the seat in a 2018 upset, seizing what was then the last Republican-held House seat anchored in Los Angeles County. She was gone in less than a year, leaving an open seat after resigning amid a House ethics probe involving sexual misconduct.

Garcia is a former fighter pilot and defense industry executive.

THE COMEBACK KID?

In a surprise, Issa is in a close battle with Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar in his bid to return to Congress.

Issa became a national figure as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee from 2011 to January 2015, emerging as a chief antagonist of President Barack Obama.

But his once-conservative district straddling San Diego and Orange counties gradually became more Democratic, like much of California, and he decided not to run for reelection two years ago after nearly losing the seat in 2016.

Now, he’s back as a candidate in the neighboring 50th District, anchored in San Diego County. The seat was held by Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter until he resigned earlier this year after pleading guilty to a corruption charge. Issa is a car alarm magnate who at one time was the wealthiest member of Congress. The 31-year-old Campa-Najjar nearly ousted Hunter in 2018 despite the district’s conservative tilt.

Issa is closely aligned with Trump and could suffer if the president does not deliver a strong showing in the district that the president carried by 15 points in 2016.

FIGHT IN FARM COUNTRY

Former U.S. Rep. David Valadao lost his seat two years ago to Democrat TJ Cox by 862 votes. In their rematch this year, incomplete results showed Valadao with a narrow edge.

The Central Valley district has a wide Democratic registration advantage but has shown a willingness to embrace Republican candidates before.

Valadao endorsed Trump this time after withholding his support in 2016 — a risk in a district the president lost by 15 points. But he also stressed an independent streak and an ability to work across the political divide.

Cox has been campaigning on health care and immigration reform in a district with a large Latino population. Both candidates have seen unfavorable publicity tied to their business interests.

GOP AIMS TO RETAKE LONGTIME REPUBLICAN DISTRICT

Republican Michelle Steel chased down Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda, after he opened an early lead in the coastal 48th District in Orange County. Incomplete results had Steel with a small edge.

Rouda seized the seat in 2018 in an upset over then-Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who had served for decades in what was once considered a conservative bastion. The loss carried symbolic weight in a county known as a foundation block in the Reagan revolution.

Steel heads the county Board of Supervisors.

The district has a GOP registration edge, but Democrats have been closing in. Hillary Clinton carried the county by nearly 9 points in 2016. Taxes and health care have been prominent issues.

A REMATCH IN ORANGE COUNTY

Another longtime Republican seat anchored in Orange County fell to Democrat Gil Cisneros in 2018.

Incomplete results showed Cisneros trailing by a tissue-thin margin in his rematch with Republican Young Kim, a former state lawmaker. She earlier had lagged behind him.

The district has grown more Democratic over two years, and the party has opened up a registration advantage.

Kim has argued that Cisneros didn't live up to his promise to be an independent voice in Washington, instead falling in line with Pelosi.

Cisneros, a Navy veteran and $266 million lottery jackpot winner who founded a charitable foundation with his wife, has depicted Kim as a lockstep supporter of Trump.

DEMOCRAT DELIVERS WIN IN CENTRAL VALLEY

The Central Valley’s 10th District has a Democratic tilt, but the agriculture-rich area also has a history of sending Republicans to Congress.

Not surprisingly, first-term Democratic Rep. Josh Harder has been touting a willingness to work across the party divide, along with highlighting his work to secure funds for water projects, a priority in the region.

He scored a decisive win over Republican Ted Howze, a veterinarian.

Howze lost the backing of national Republicans earlier this year over derogatory online posts about Muslims and Hillary Clinton that the candidate said he did not write. He’s depicting himself as an outsider running against the Democratic establishment and has echoed Trump's criticism of efforts to defund police departments.

Harder, a venture capitalist, had a nearly $4 million cash advantage in mid-October.

O.C. officials investigate reports of fake vote center in Westminster, say no evidence of ballots being destroyed

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 03:46:28 +0000

Orange County officials on Election Day were investigating allegations of a fake vote center in Westminster after video began circulating on social media of a handmade “Vote Here” sign outside what appeared to be the campaign headquarters of Republican Westminster Vice Mayor Kimberly Ho.

The video taken by Instagram user its.ty_guys also shows two staff members carrying a box with papers in it outside Apogee International. Another video shows officers standing outside the business.

"It clearly was an operation of at least two campaigns, Republican candidates, and it is very preliminary but it appears as if some individuals came with their original unopened ballot that was sent to them from the Registrar, on which they were seeking help, or at least wanted to designate somebody to return their ballot," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer told KTLA.

Spitzer said allegations were made that there were ballots that had been torn up, but investigators believe the damaged papers seen in the video were only the outside envelopes sent by the Registrar of Voters.

"So we've at least concluded there's been no destruction of actual ballots with candidates' names on them, just the exterior envelope from the original mailing by the Registrar," Spitzer said.

Spitzer added that his office was looking into "whether it came into the umbrella of ballot harvesting." Ballot harvesting is a practice that involves campaigns or political parties collecting ballots from supporters and returning them to county election offices.

"If we thought there was something on its face that was particularly nefarious or improper, we would have shut it down," Spitzer said.

An attorney for the Ho campaign told the Los Angeles Times that people were coming there to drop off ballots and the office was helping “advise” people on how to vote bridging a cultural barrier with the Vietnamese community.

The Times said that after the video was posted, one of its reporters found a "Vote Here" sign discarded behind the building. It's unclear who put it there.

A spokesperson for the Orange County Registrar’s Office said the agency was investigating the reports in the video with the DA's Office and couldn’t disclose further details, but said the location seen in the video is not an official voting site.

There is an ongoing investigation and we are working with the District Attorney’s office.
— OC Registrar (@OCRegistrar) November 4, 2020

Containment of Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires in Orange County Reaches 93 Percent

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 13:42:30 +0000

The Blue Ridge and Silverado wildfires that damaged homes in Yorba Linda and Irvine and caused thousands of residents to evacuate were 93% contained Tuesday morning as more than 1,100 firefighters mopped up hot spots and worked to extend containment lines of cleared vegetation.

All roads affected by the blazes have been reopened, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

The Blue Ridge Fire has burned 13,694 acres, destroyed one structure and damaged 10, according to CalFire.

The Silverado Fire has blackened 12,466 acres, destroyed five structures and damaged nine. The containment increased to 93% Monday after having been listed at 88% on Sunday.

Two firefighters remained in critical condition after suffering second- and third-degree burns in the Silverado Fire, which was driven by powerful Santa Ana winds.

“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with our hand crew firefighters that were seriously injured battling the Silverado fire,” Concialdi said. “They are getting exceptional care at the burn center and their families appreciate all the love and support from their fire family and entire community.”

There are 784 firefighters assigned to the Silverado blaze and 335 to the Blue Ridge fire, Cal Fire said.

Both fires were expected to be fully contained by Nov. 10. The cause of both fires was unknown.

With Election Anxiety Rising, OC Warmline Offers Tips and a Listening Ear

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 06:46:48 +0000

If a happy celebration like winning a championship can lead to destructive behavior, you wouldn’t be wrong to be anxious about what could happen with the opposite outcome.

“What we’ve seen in the past even with sports teams winning, we’ve seen some sort of unrest and violence,” Asma Alibhai, an Orange County voter, says. “Hopefully its not as bad.”

With election day arriving, the anxiety around it for many has been brewing for a while.

“I am ready bail the city if i have to,” Stacia Siroonian, another OC voter, says.

Those who provide emotional and mental health support are preparing for an influx of calls this week, similar to what happened after the 2016 election.

“A couple days later, oh my goodness, we did not anticipate the amount of anguish, anger, sadness–you name it,” Dr. Mariam Harris, OC Warmline’s program director, says. “The emotion showed up at the Warmline.”

The Orange County Health Care Agency’s Warmline is a free call service to provide a listening ear for OC residents.

Lately, about 85% of calls have been about election anxiety.

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“Whether it (Democrat) or (Republican), it doesn’t matter for us,” Harris says. “We just listen to the stories. We don’t take sides.”

As hard as it seems, mental health professionals suggest letting go of things we can’t control, especially on election night. And they say how well you deal with the aftermath depends on your mindset going in.

“Don’t be attached to an outcome,” Harris says. “The minute you are, that’s when disappointment happens.”

Health experts also suggest taking a mental day off or engaging in community service, something to take the focus off politics.

For more on OC Warmline, click here or call the OC Warmline at 714-991-6412.

GOP aims to reclaim some of California's U.S. House seats

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 06:09:14 +0000

The Republican Party is trying to reclaim some of its old turf in California on Tuesday, after losing a string of U.S. House seats in 2018 that helped Democrats reclaim control of the chamber.

A Republican takeover of the House appears highly unlikely, however, and the fate of GOP candidates in toss-up districts in Orange County, the Central Valley and the Los Angeles area could turn on whether voter disdain for President Donald Trump trickles down the ballot in the heavily Democratic state.

Two years ago, Democrats pulled off a string of upsets as suburban voters nationally recoiled from the Trump agenda, grabbing seven GOP-held districts, including four all or partly in the one-time Republican stronghold of Orange County.

Those losses were humiliations for the state GOP, which has seen its standing with voters steadily erode over a generation. Republican presidential candidates carried California in nine of 10 presidential elections from 1952 to 1988.

But California has become increasingly Democratic with its diversifying population: Republicans hold only seven of the state’s 53 House seats, the party hasn’t won a statewide race since 2006 and registered Democrats outnumber GOP voters by nearly 2 to 1.

Republicans hoping for a rebound have argued that incumbent Democrats lack independence and are tied too closely to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while Democrats have depicted Republican candidates as subservient to Trump, who is widely unpopular in California outside his loyal base.

The key contests:

A BATTLEGROUND AT THE EDGE OF LOS ANGELES

Democrat Katie Hill captured the swing 25th District in a 2018 upset, seizing the last Republican-held House seat anchored in Los Angeles County. She was gone in less than a year, resigning amid a House ethics probe involving sexual misconduct.

The seat is now held by Republican Rep. Mike Garcia, a former fighter pilot and defense industry executive who won a May special election to fill the vacancy. He's in a rematch with the state lawmaker he defeated last spring, Christy Smith.

The district, which includes a slice of Ventura County that is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, has a Democratic registration edge.

THE COMEBACK KID?

Former Republican Rep. Darrell Issa was a national figure as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee from 2011 to January 2015, emerging as a chief antagonist of President Barack Obama.

But his once-conservative district straddling San Diego and Orange counties gradually changed, like much of California, and he decided not to run for reelection two years ago after nearly losing the seat in 2016.

Now, he’s back as a candidate in the neighboring 50th District, which was held by Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter until he resigned earlier this year after pleading guilty to a corruption charge. Issa, a car alarm magnate who at one time was the wealthiest member of Congress, is matched against 31-year-old Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who nearly ousted Hunter in 2018 despite the district’s conservative tilt.

Issa is closely aligned with Trump and could suffer if the president does not deliver a strong showing in the district that the president carried by 15 points in 2016.

FIGHT IN FARM COUNTRY

In one of several rematches on the ballot, former U.S. Rep. David Valadao is trying to win back the seat he lost two years ago to Democrat TJ Cox by 862 votes. It’s expected to be close again.

The Central Valley district has a wide Democratic registration edge but has shown a willingness to embrace Republican candidates before. Valadao endorsed Trump this time after withholding his support in 2016 — a risk in a district the president lost by 15 points.

But he also stressed an independent streak and an ability to work across the political divide.

Cox has been campaigning on health care and immigration reform in a district with a large Latino population. Both candidates have seen unfavorable publicity tied to their business interests.

GOP AIMS TO RETAKE LONGTIME REPUBLICAN DISTRICT

Former Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher served for decades before losing in 2018 to Democrat Harley Rouda in the coastal 48th District in Orange County, once a conservative bastion. The loss carried symbolic weight in a county known as a foundation block in the Reagan revolution.

This year, Rouda is defending his seat against Republican Michelle Steel, who heads the county Board of Supervisors.

The district has a GOP registration edge, but Democrats have been closing in. Hillary Clinton carried the county by nearly 9 points in 2016. Taxes and health care have been prominent issues.

A REMATCH IN ORANGE COUNTY

Another longtime Republican seat anchored in Orange County fell to Democrat Gil Cisneros in 2018. Republican Young Kim, a former state lawmaker who was born in South Korea and grew up in Guam, is back for a second try in the 39th District.

The district has grown more Democratic over two years, and the party has opened up a slight registration advantage.

Kim has argued that Cisneros didn't live up to his promise to be an independent voice in Washington, instead falling in line with Pelosi.

Cisneros, a Navy veteran and $266 million lottery jackpot winner who founded a charitable foundation with his wife, has depicted Kim as a lockstep supporter of Trump.

DEMOCRAT LOOKS FOR A REPEAT

The Central Valley’s 10th District has a Democratic tilt, but the agriculture-rich area also has a history of sending Republicans to Congress.

Republican Ted Howze, a veterinarian, lost the backing of national Republicans earlier this year over derogatory online posts about Muslims and Hillary Clinton that the candidate said he did not write. He’s depicting himself as an outsider running against the Democratic establishment and has echoed Trump's criticism of efforts to defund police departments.

Harder, a venture capitalist, had a nearly $4 million cash advantage in mid-October, which could prove decisive.

Orange County Reports Near-Record Voting, County Boasts 70% Turnout As of Monday

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 05:12:29 +0000

Voter turnout in Orange County has already matched that of the 2008 presidential election, Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said Monday.

In 2008, the county recorded 1.1 million ballots cast, and so far this year the county has received nearly 1 million ballots through the mail or from drop boxes, while also recording about 160,000 in-person votes, Kelley said.

“As of today, we’re at 140% of where we were at in 2016,” Kelley said. “We’re just shy of a million mail ballots already returned. And at the same time period in 2016 we were at 465,000.”

Kelley could not recall a turnout this robust.

We’ve never had that before at this stage of the game — certainly after election day, but not before,” Kelley said.

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But Kelley said he was hoping in-person voting would be higher at this point, “because I don’t want this crush on Election Day with COVID out there.”

As for Tuesday, Kelley said, “I’m hoping it’s mostly people turning in ballots rather than showing up” to fill out a ballot at the county’s vote centers.

The county is at 70% turnout as of Monday.

“If we top 80 we’ll hit historic numbers,” he said.

“There’s going to be a ton mailed or dropped off,” so it will take a few days to record all of the ballots, Kelley said.

The county started counting ballots on Oct. 6, so the first batch of returned ballots will be posted at 8:05 p.m. Tuesday, Kelley said.

“So it’s going to be a big chunk,” he said, adding it could be about 1.3 million to 1.4 million votes.

Part of what spurred the early turnout were fears that surfaced this summer about cutbacks at the U.S. Post Office that could delay the delivery of ballots.

“I honestly thought early on there would be a damper on” turnout because of concerns about COVID-19, Kelley said. “But in the last 60 or 90 days that went out the window because of what was going on with the mail. That has fired people up.”

The county’s voting super site at the Honda Center in Anaheim will be open on Tuesday, which will provide a safe way to cast a ballot because the county has 15,000 feet and more than 100 booths to space voters out, along with drive-through service. Motorists can request a ballot from the car, go park and fill it out before dropping it off from their vehicle.

The county also has 116 drop boxes and 42 vote center locations with drive-through service.

Kelley said he has about 300 staffers ready to respond to issues at the polls such as electioneering or voter intimidation.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised so far because not a lot of issues have been cropping up,” Kelley said. “We have a good plan in place. We haven’t had but a trickle of complaints about intimidation. It’s been fairly smooth so far.”

There are multiple contests on the ballot for city councils and school boards, most notably electing a successor to longtime Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who has been on the City Council since 1986 and mayor since 1994.

The candidates for Santa Ana mayor are prosecutor Claudia Alvarez, businessman Mark Lopez, Councilman Vicente Sarmiento, Councilman Jose Solorio, former Councilwoman Cecilia Iglesias, who was recalled from the council by voters in May, and businessman George Collins.

Also bidding for a comeback is former Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, who was knocked off the council in 2014 and is running for a council seat again.

Another comeback bid is being made by former state Sen. Josh Newman in Senate District 29. The Democrat was recalled by voters in 2018 after casting a decisive vote for a gas tax increase. He is running to unseat GOP state Sen. Ling Ling Chang, who replaced him.

Former state Sen. Janet Nguyen, who was defeated in a bid for re-election two years ago, is running for state Assembly against Democratic Garden Grove City Councilwoman Diedre Nguyen.

Other state lawmaker races of note include Republican state Sen. John Moorlach’s bid for another term against UC Irvine law professor Dave Min, and Democratic Irvine City Councilwoman’s bid to unseat Republican Assemblyman Steven Choi in the 68th District.

Republican Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, the vice chairman of the board, is bidding for another term against Democratic Westminster City Councilman Sergio Contreras.

Ada Briceno, chairwoman of the Orange County Democratic Party, said she was optimistic about the party’s candidates, noting Democrats have a 2.4-point registration lead over Republicans.

“That’s almost 43,000 votes,” she said. “We’re definitely excited. I see the enthusiasm across the county, not only with volunteers but voters in general.”

Fred Whitaker, chairman of the Orange County GOP, said, “I’m really jazzed about tomorrow. I think things are going to go well.”

Whitaker acknowledged Democrats have turned out in higher numbers for early voting, but, “We’ve been catching up every single day.”

Whitaker said his party’s internal polling shows, “We’ll have a good day tomorrow.”

UC Irvine political science professor Louis DeSipio said Democrats have utilized a “successful strategy” of tying local Republicans to President Donald Trump.

Whitaker said his party has countered by attacking Democrats’ connection with Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“They can tie our candidates to the president, but we’re tying their candidates to Newsom, and I don’t know who’s more unpopular” in California, Whitaker said.

DOJ to Monitor Compliance With Voting Laws on Election Day in LA, Orange Counties

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 04:05:47 +0000

The Justice Department Monday announced its plans for voting rights monitoring in Los Angeles and Orange counties and throughout the country for Tuesday’s general election.

The department historically has monitored in jurisdictions in the field on election day, and is again doing so this year. The department will also take complaints from the public nationwide regarding possible violations of the federal voting rights laws through its call center.

“Federal law entrusts the Civil Rights Division with protecting the right to vote for all Americans,” said Eric S. Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. “Our federal laws protect the right of all American citizens to vote without suffering discrimination, intimidation, and harassment. The work of the Civil Rights Division around each federal general election is a continuation of its historical mission to ensure that all of our citizens can freely exercise this most fundamental American right.”

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The Civil Rights Division enforces the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot. Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the division has regularly monitored in a variety of elections around the country throughout every year to protect the rights of all voters, and not just in federal general elections.

On Tuesday, the Civil Rights Division plans to send personnel to 44 jurisdictions — including Orange and Los Angeles counties — in 18 states to monitor for compliance with the federal voting rights laws.

As in past years, monitors will focus on compliance with the Voting Rights Act, and the other federal voting rights laws enforced by the division. Monitors will include civil rights personnel from the Civil Rights Division and civil rights and civil personnel from U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Civil Rights Division personnel will also maintain contact with state and local election officials.

On Election Day, Civil Rights Division personnel will be available all
day to receive complaints from the public related to possible violations of
the federal voting rights laws by a complaint form on the department’s website:
civilrights.justice.gov/ or by telephone toll-free at 800-253-3931.

Complaints related to disruption at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local election officials — including officials in the polling place. Complaints related to violence, threats of violence or intimidation at a polling place should be reported immediately to local police authorities by calling 911. These complaints should also be reported to the department after local authorities have been contacted.

Last week, the Justice Department announced its overall plans for the general election to protect the right to vote and secure the integrity of the voting process through the work of the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Division, National Security Division, and U.S. Attorney’s Offices.

More information about the federal civil rights laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at justice.gov/crt.

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