Category: Orange County

Irvine’s Hero Pay Ordinance Sees Narrower Scope of Applicable Stores 

Modifications to Irvine’s recently-approved “hero pay” for grocery workers are being made in an effort to shield small businesses from the measure, say some city councilors. Updates to the proposed ordinance sought to remove some of the smaller stores by increasing the minimum number of store employees from 15 to 20, and increasing the nationwide number of employees from 300 to 500….


Californians Part of ‘Cal-Exit’ Say Why They Left

Mike Kimmel and his wife, native Californians, moved to Arizona last year. Kimmel speaks of his love for California—but in the past tense. “We loved the area and state we were born in,” he told The Epoch Times via email. “The beauty and diversity of the state stayed constant across those years. But the taxes…


School Talks of Hybrid Success Amid California’s Tug-of-War on the Issue

As California Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed a proposal to incentivize school reopenings this month using grants, he has faced opposition from teachers’ unions, as well as some legislators and district leaders. But Orange County school districts have been more receptive to hybrid- and in-person-learning than those in some neighboring counties. On the state’s map showing the status of school closures, districts open for in-person or hybrid learning are colored blue. Districts with distance-learning only are a sandy yellow. Orange County looks like something of…


Orange County’s Coronavirus Hospitalizations Continue to Drop

SANTA ANA—Orange County reported 361 new cases of COVID-19 and 33 additional deaths Feb. 14, bringing the county’s totals to 242,505 cases and 3,577 fatalities since the pandemic began. Hospitalizations due to the coronavirus continued to fall sharply in Orange County, declining from 839 Feb. 13 to 790, with the number of coronavirus patients in…


Horse That Survived 2017 Lilac Fire Wins First Race at Los Alamitos

CYPRESS—A 6-year-old racehorse who survived the deadly 2017 Lilac Fire at San Luis Rey Downs in Bonsall won her first race in an emotional finish at Los Alamitos. Lovely Finish pulled away from the field en route to a 3-length win in the Feb. 13 first race at the Cypress track, a 1,000-yard maiden contest….


Board of Supervisors Candidates Participate in Forum 

Candidates running for the second district seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors (BOS) participated in a virtual forum Feb. 12, where they answered questions regarding their positions on county-level issues. Participants included former state senator and supervisor John Moorlach, Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Muldoon, and Corona del Mar attorney Janet Rappaport. Other candidates, Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley…


Newport Beach Mayor Calls Homeless Shelter ‘Phenomenally Expensive,’ But Necessary 

Newport Beach is finalizing a deal with Costa Mesa for 29 beds in a homeless shelter that will cost the city $2.6 million for the first year, and $1 million each following year. “It’s phenomenally expensive, and something we have to do,” Newport Beach Mayor Brad Avery said during a Feb. 10 public Zoom meeting. “I say to people, what is the alternative?…


Orange County Sheriff’s Department Shares Video of Deadly Shooting

Footage of the fatal police shooting of a hooded, gun-wielding woman was released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) Feb. 12 in a move it hoped would bolster public trust. The video, taken about 1 a.m. last June 24, begins with a sheriff’s deputy scouring a darkened Lake Forest street following reports of a…


Deadly Crash on Freeway On-Ramp in Anaheim

ANAHEIM—One person was killed Feb. 12 in a crash on an on- ramp to the westbound Riverside (91) Freeway in Anaheim. The crash was reported about 5 a.m. on the Lakeview Avenue on-ramp, according to the California Highway Patrol. Details of the crash were not immediately available. The age, gender and name of the victim…


Newport Beach Mayor Says Meeting State-Mandated Housing Quota Will Be Difficult

The mayor of Newport Beach said his city will face a challenge to add the required number of new units mandated by the state in an effort to create affordable housing in Orange County. Per California’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) mandate, Newport Beach needs to meet the state’s quota of 4,834 new high-density and…