Category: Southern California OC News

UCI Medical Workers Commemorate National Gun Violence Awareness Day

ORANGE, Calif.—Days after a shooter took the lives of two physicians at a hospital in Oklahoma, doctors and hospital staff wearing orange T-shirts gathered outside the University of California–Irvine (UCI) Medical Center on June 3 to commemorate National Gun Violence Awareness Day. “Today, we want to remember those that have been hurt or killed by…


Saddleback Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren to Retire, Announces Successor

Pastor Rick Warren announced on June 2 that Pastor Andy Wood will take over leadership of Saddleback Church, a Lake Forest, California, congregation with more than 30,000 weekly attendees. Warren, 68, who founded the evangelical Baptist church with his wife Kay in 1980, announced plans to retire and search for a successor last year. Wood,…


Metallic Balloons Can Cause Power Outages: SCE Warns Amid Graduation Season

Schools are in full swing celebrating the graduation season, but Southern California Edison (SCE) is telling people to not turn the celebration into a blast—with metallic balloon-caused power outages. Over the last five years, May and June—the graduation months—have statistically made up almost a third of foil balloon outages each year, according to the utility…


Metallic Balloons Can Cause Power Outages: Edison Warns Amid Graduation Season

Schools are in full swing celebrating the graduation season, but Southern California Edison is telling people to not turn the celebration into a blast—with metallic balloon-caused power outages. Over the last five years, May and June—the graduation months—have statistically made up almost a third of foil balloon outages each year, according to the utility company….


Anaheim City Council to Consider Corruption Investigation, Campaign Finance Reform

ANAHEIM, Calif.—The Anaheim City Council is expected to consider June 7 directing staff to recommend an independent investigation into the alleged corruption as fallout from an FBI probe continues The council may also consider adopting campaign finance reform measures that would require council members and mayors from voting on issues that could benefit campaign donors…


San Clemente to Fight Human Trafficking Through Stronger Oversight of At-Risk Businesses

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.—Hotels and personal service businesses like massage parlors and nail salons have become a hotbed for human trafficking in San Clemente, California, prompting city officials to push for stronger oversight of such establishments. “In terms of quality of life and the safety and security of our residents, we don’t want those establishments here,”…


No Arrests in Mater Dei Threat at the Moment: Police

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A former Mater Dei High School employee who allegedly sent a threat to the Catholic school that forced its closure will likely not face criminal charges, according to the Santa Ana Police Department. Mater Dei reopened its doors Thursday as students inch closer to their final exams before the summer holiday—two days after the…


Orange County Eighth Grader Reaches Fourth Round of National Spelling Bee

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif.—A middle school student from Orange County, California, advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee after advancing through three rounds of spelling—but stopped in the fourth round on June 1. Jason Khan, an eighth-grader attending McAuliffe Middle School in Los Alamitos, misspelled lepper, a horse skilled in jumping. However, he…


Mater Dei to Reopen Thursday After ‘Credible Threat’ Prompts Closure

SANTA ANA, Calif.—It was one week after a gunman in Uvalde, Texas murdered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School when Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana received a “credible threat” that resulted in the shutting down of the campus. Students at Mater Dei High School will return to campus Thursday—one day…


OC Power Authority CEO Accuses Board Members of Corruption

The head of the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) has accused Huntington Beach City Councilors Mike Posey and Dan Kalmick of corruption and open meeting law violations. Brian Probolsky, CEO of Orange County Power Authority (OCPA), which oversees the program, alleges that “Posey and Kalmick conspired to create a common plan and scheme to insert…