Huntington Beach City Council members approved a housing plan after years of fighting state housing mandates, ending in a string of legal losses and a monthly fine that led to the city being “beaten into submission,” according to one councilman.
If the housing plan is rejected by the judge, the current $50,000 monthly fine could increase to at least $150,000 in a few months and the court could order the city into receivership, stripping the city’s ability to make local land use and zoning decisions.
Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) is pushing a state bill that would strip the OC Board of Supervisors of control over CalOptima – the county’s health plan for the poor – and kick two supervisors off the CalOptima board, with Valencia saying the board is too politicized.
The proposal is facing pushback against a host of interests, like the Hospital Association of Southern California as CalOptima board members denounced the bill in an emergency meeting on Thursday. A relief fund for people impacted by the Garden Grove chemical tank evacuations was paused after an overwhelming demand saw program coordinators struggling to keep up with aid applications.
More questions are surfacing over why OC Health Care Agency officials didn’t renew a state grant to fund the Black Infant Health program as agency officials say the administrative cost to run the program was too high.
Costa Mesa is the latest Orange County city to cut free rides for seniors as officials have seen a huge surge in demand and cost – another hurdle cities grapple with as the county’s population is aging in what’s been dubbed the “silver tsunami.”
Irvine City Council members now have the biggest office budgets in Orange County after doubling the funds used on staff and other things like nonprofit grants – all while city officials grapple with a deficit amid tough budget projections.
City officials are also moving to ask Irvine voters if they want to switch city council elections to ranked choice voting in a move that could quadruple the city’s cost to run elections in 2028.
Santa Ana’s also dealing with rocky budget outlooks, forcing city officials to cut spending across a host of programs and eliminate five city commissions to balance the budget.
Auditors told Fullerton City Council members that the city needs to hire an experienced, qualified chief financial officer to oversee the city’s budget, which faces a nearly $14 million deficit this year.
Laguna Beach officials are considering asking their voters to increase business and hotel taxes after the city had to cut eight positions and reduce contracts to balance the budget.
Residents there are also raising concerns that Laguna Beach’s only nearby emergency room is closing after 88% of 400 surveyed residents say it’s critical the city have a 24/7 emergency room.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer quietly ended the county’s controversial DNA harvesting program, also known as “spit and acquit,” amid a series of budget cuts.
Lake Forest officials are abandoning plans to build a public park in Whispering Hills and are instead eyeing affordable housing for the 6.5 acre lot that’s been sitting in the city inventory for 30 years.
Cities throughout Orange County are gearing up to crackdown on illegal fireworks ahead of the country’s 250th birthday this Fourth of July.
