After a donation from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Banning Ranch Conservancy needs to raise $14 million more for the area to become a coastal public park.
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 inGovernment
Mission Viejo Moves Ahead With Stein Mart Purchase, Locking In Millions Of Bond Debt
The project will cost the city at least $46 million in bonds, and will lead to cutbacks in several city services to offset the cost.
Posted inEducation
Orange County School Districts Grapple With COVID-19 Testing for Students
As COVID-19 is spreading among younger age groups, school districts across the county discuss testing policies — addressing a gap left by the state’s classroom reopening guidelines.
Posted inEducation
OC Board of Education Hosts Second Ethnic Studies Forum as Debates Over the Course Persist
The Orange County Board of Education hosted a panel to debate ethnic studies Tuesday, which only saw one panelist support the class while most of the others discredited it.
Posted inGovernment
South Orange County Cities Choose Where To Spend Pandemic Bailout Money
As cities receive additional rounds of COVID-19 relief funding, officials grapple with where and what to spend the grants on.
Posted inEducation
OC Board of Education Hosts Second Ethnic Studies Panel; Misinformation Concerns Persist
Orange County educators, parents and students continue to battle over ethnic studies courses being incorporated or expanded in local school districts’ curricula.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Santa Ana to Consider Reversing Past Relaxation of Affordable Housing Law
After weakening affordable housing obligations for developers last year, Santa Ana city officials are poised to reverse some of the past action.
Posted inOrange
Orange City Council Updates Parking Code, Directs Downtown Study
Orange city officials voted Tuesday night to conduct a parking study downtown and make changes to the citywide parking code.
Posted inEconomy
Historic Old Towne Orange Could See Some Seasonal Outdoor Dining
Orange city officials are discussing keeping the Paseo on Glassell Street open for a longer period of time and having the activity potentially return seasonally.
Posted inTransportation
Westminster Mobile Home Park Residents Plea for Help to Make Driveway Less Dangerous
The residents have struggled for months with dangerous driving conditions when entering and exiting their community with no promise of change in sight. Some fear somebody can get killed.
