After years of heavy criticism, the county-run animal shelter is facing legal challenges claiming abusive practices and an overreliance on euthanasia.
Author Archives: Angelina Hicks
Angelina Hicks is Voice of OC’s Collegiate News Service editor, leading the newsroom’s partnership with Chapman University that gives students the chance to report on civic news across Orange County.
Hicks was named the inaugural Tracy A. Wood Fellow in 2022, but she has been filing stories and mentoring students with the newsroom since her freshman year at Chapman in 2020. She reports on south county news and civics, including issues along the coast, the county-run animal shelter in Tustin and the OC Fair & Event Center. Her “Pets of the Week” series, published each Friday, highlights dogs and cats available for adoption at local shelters.
Hicks graduated from Chapman in 2023, where she was editor-in-chief of The Panther, the university’s student-run newspaper. She earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California in 2024, where she was managing editor of Annenberg Media. She is an assistant professor of journalism and interim director of the journalism program at Chapman’s Wilkinson College.
Since she became Collegiate News Service editor, the number of student stories published on Voice of OC each year has nearly doubled.
Posted inTop Stories
Banning Ranch Officially Preserved as Open Space and Future Public Park
Banning Ranch is slated become the Randall Preserve and open up for public access after a few years of cleanup.
Posted inCountywide
These Dogs Are Getting Left Behind in Orange County Shelters
When evaluating the harder-to-adopt dogs at local animal shelters, three trends seem to emerge: size, age and perceived behavior problems
Posted inPolitics & Elections
Orange County’s Election Pushes Some Big Changes to Small Cities
Results show that the county is becoming solidly purple, with a mixture of Republican and Democratic leadership throughout many smaller cities.
Posted inCountywide
Activists Fed Up With OC Animal Shelter, Sue For Animal Abuse
Activists have filed a lawsuit after advocating for the county-run animal shelter to fully reopen to the public.
Posted inPolitics & Elections
Mission Viejo Sees First Election With Districts: Who’s Winning So Far?
No matter what, the city is guaranteed at least one new council member, and the remaining incumbents are up against a slate of newcomers. Here’s the initial election night results.
Posted inTop Stories
Are Community Gardens Becoming Orange County’s Next Town Squares?
Advocates say the gardens help increase sustainability while also teaching people how to eat healthier while serving as a type of community center for residents in a county with dwindling open space.
Posted inGovernment
Who’s Financing Orange County’s Politicians?
When evaluating OC cities’ transparency, a group of Chapman University students measured how easy it is for users to locate certain city council candidate disclosures.
Posted inCountywide
‘We’re All Overwhelmed’: As Orange County Becomes Overrun With Cats, Local Rescues Struggle to Keep Up
OC cat rescues are now unable to predict when an influx of kittens will come into local shelters as stray cat population continues to grow.
Posted inNEWS
Mission Viejo Appoints City Manager to Run the Town After Judge Boots Council Majority
After an OC Superior Court Judge tossed three council members in an election lawsuit, city officials handed the city manager a blank check to run the city.
