Voice of OC

Orange County news. Our nonprofit and nonpartisan news agency focuses on quality of life, arts and culture.

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

County employees are calling for better raises ahead of the holiday weekend while OC Supervisors say there is no room for raises amid a $75 million budget deficit after giving themselves a 25% pay bump.
https://t.co/X7DC4ywOVv

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

Leading up to the country’s semiquincentennial, officials across OC are adopting laws allowing a homeowner to be fined for the use of illegal fireworks on their property and ramping up enforcement efforts.
https://t.co/uUAcq37oZf

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

Here’s where to catch the nearest fireworks show to celebrate America’s 250th birthday this Fourth of July.
https://t.co/owoAvDXX1V

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

Santa Ana officials purged five city commissions to save $38,000 in the face of a $13 million budget deficit, opting not to cut their $420,000 budget for political aides or dialing back their nearly $80,000 travel budget.
https://t.co/XBtYEApSOw

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

Placentia voters will decide whether to increase the city’s hotel bed tax in November joining a host of other Orange County voters deciding on tax increases in their cities this fall.
https://t.co/l63QzygAEr

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

One of OC’s latest grand jury reports highlights how county supervisors' taxpayer-funded multimillion dollar political slush funds keep fueling banana republic politics across OC, writes @NorbertoSantana.
https://t.co/O4xWSyVuGb

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

All Orange County residents will be able to speak to their city council members from home during public meetings starting next month due to a new state law.
https://t.co/td3wr0XmhT

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

OC Grand Jurors are recommending empowering county supervisors to oust elected officials for wrongdoing amid a string of criminal controversies and misconduct scandals over the past 50 years.
https://t.co/WCtvs4RuX1

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

OC Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari Friedenrich is increasingly protesting being shut out of her office by county supervisors despite being overwhelmingly reelected to the position in June, writes @NorbertoSantana.
https://t.co/FNKBTYZyAx

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

OC residents who were forced to evacuate after a chemical tank nearly exploded last month can no longer apply for a $3 million aid fund due to a high volume of applications.
https://t.co/2OJnOALulh

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

A growing number of Laguna Beach residents are raising complaints over the planned closure of their local emergency room with the next closest hospital in Mission Viejo almost nine miles away.
https://t.co/1AEllVu6g8

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

Santa Ana officials are slashing five city commissions to save about $38,000 as they moved to close a $13 million budget gap ahead of July.
https://t.co/cnHBmjSUPT

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

Cities across OC are ramping up enforcement and implementing new laws to curb illegal fireworks ahead of a monumental Fourth of July weekend this year.
https://t.co/oGoBKkxPLz

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer quietly sunset a controversial DNA collection program last month as county leaders settle a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality and implement budget cuts.
https://t.co/Ir9mQmgy33

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

Huntington Beach leaders approved a new state-mandated housing plan this week after years of insisting they didn’t need to, arguing it is the only way to fend off hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
https://t.co/BJc6DlorCG

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

Cities across Orange County are beefing up their surveillance systems with new cameras and license plate readers despite resident concerns over privacy and where that data goes.
https://t.co/KGxKE3jewB

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

OC Grand Jurors are questioning if the county board of supervisors have too much discretionary power as supervisors are poised to give one of their colleagues nearly $4 million in discretionary funds amid a budget deficit.
https://t.co/MLA0dK6Cu1

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

As of Wednesday, Democrats led in both of the remaining competitive races for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, which are set to move to a runoff election in November.
https://t.co/BUoUx6GxEy

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

An executive from the aerospace company that owns the toxic chemical tank that nearly exploded in Garden Grove faced the public for the first time this week -- a day before federal agents searched the company's facility.
https://t.co/mklWs3WQjs

[Voice of OC @VoiceofOC]

E-bikes, a popular mode of transportation, are resulting in deaths, injuries and arrests in Orange County as state and local leaders grapple with updated rules for electric bicycles.
https://t.co/lODR09yDLD