Irvine City Council members are wrestling with a projected budget shortfall of $6 million by the end of this fiscal year – a deficit that could balloon to $47 million by the end of the decade.

Yet half of the city council largely brushed off concerns and voted against immediately cutting Irvine’s spending through measures like hiring freezes, saying they’d like to get more information on the matter at next month’s meeting. 

Officials in nearby Santa Ana are gearing up for a series of spending cuts and potential new fees as they try to tame a projected $19 million budget deficit – a massive shortfall that could hit city coffers before the sales tax increase begins to sunset.

City council members in Orange shifted $17 million from other funds to help cover the general fund’s projected deficit – including moving $10 million from the capital fund. Officials are also postponing things like fixing city hall’s roof and renovating a couple fire stations amid the deficit.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is launching a probe into herbicide use in San Juan and Trabuco creeks after local residents began ringing alarm bells about the chemical – while also highlighting how a tangled web of agencies makes oversight difficult.  

Fullerton city officials are looking to beef up their crackdown on illicit cannabis shops – overhauling city laws that could lead to $10,000 a day fines and six months in jail for running illegal cannabis shops. 

Laguna Beach is slated to become the next OC town that bans EZ-UPs on the coastline, along with tables larger than six-foot by six-foot. 

New affordable housing is coming to Lake Forest after city council members signed off on a development plan on a long empty 6.5-acre site in Whispering Hills. 

Cars with disabled placards and disabled veterans license plates will be exempt from Brea’s overhauled street sweeping regulations after officials reinstituted parking restriction enforcement and bumped up fines. 

Costa Mesa is gearing up for a host of park renovations throughout the city as a parks and playground assessment plan is making its way through city commissions. 

Officials in Orange are also looking to clean up and preserve Santiago Creek after years of delays.

Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.