Community health workers pushed for rent control during Tuesday’s council meeting, marking the third time in two months that people have organized to make a public plea for a citywide cap on rent increases.
Author Archives: Brandon Pho
As a Voice of OC reporter, Brandon Pho covered north/central Orange County, as well as broader regional issues around law enforcement, transportation, the environment, the OC Fair and Little Saigon.
He joined in 2018 as an intern, shedding light on turmoil and corruption claims in Westminster and uncovering a now-fired OC Fair executive’s suspect fundraising relationship with a nearby, private Christian college that the Fair had sponsored with public money.
Later, he published a number of investigative stories on local law enforcement agencies; detailed political jockeying around a controversial seawater desalting plant proposal in Huntington Beach; narrated a racial reckoning inside one of the county’s largest school districts; and tracked various quality of life issues across the region.
Before Voice of OC, Brandon worked as a reporter and editor at Cal State Fullerton’s independent student newspaper, the Daily Titan, and won a number of accolades for his reporting in 2018, including a 1st and 2nd place Los Angeles Press Club award and 1st place national College Media Association award.
While at Voice of OC, Brandon was a member of Report for America, a national network of local reporters committed to bolstering democracy throughout the U.S.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Now Covered Under OC’s Health Plan for the Poor: Affordable Housing Construction
It comes as CalOptima enrollments have hovered around one million low-income Orange County residents.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
End of COVID Emergency Means Loss of Healthcare For Up to 146,000 Poor OC Residents
The sudden loss of care from Orange County’s health plan for the poor is raising questions about people’s current treatment, like dialysis and cancer patients.
Posted inOutdoors
Will Santa Ana Find Public Park Land in the Riverview Golf Course?
Officials will discuss the potential effort to alleviate Santa Ana’s park shortage at their regular Tuesday meeting.
Posted inSafety, Security & Justice
Should the OC Sheriff’s Department Write its Own Policies?
Tuesday’s discussion ties into a broader question facing departments across the state hooked into Lexipol’s system, about who exactly should author police officers’ procedural guidelines: The public, or a private company?
Posted inSafety, Security & Justice
Orange County District Attorney Objects to Public Defender Grant Funds
DA Todd Spitzer’s opposition to the county receiving $4 million in state funds has kickstarted a debate over how to fund legal battles that continue after conviction.
Posted inEducation
OC Board of Education’s Mari Barke Faces Financial Disclosure Probe
The Fair Political Practices Commission has agreed to look into claims that while in office, Mari Barke illegally failed to disclose her family’s income, some of which came from a COVID-19 skeptic book.
Posted inCosta Mesa
After Santa Ana, Rent Control Murmurs Get Louder in One Coastal Orange County City
A new potential wave of rent control advocacy in Costa Mesa highlights the geographic tension between the region’s wealthy and its service workers pushed further inland by rising costs.
Posted inOutdoors
OC Officials Say Privatization of Newport Back Bay Land Will Harm Access, Wildlife
After facilitating a controversial near-sale of coastal parkland in 2021, county officials are now arguing against a wealthy GOP political donor’s case in court.
Posted inSanta Ana
Santa Ana Officials to Mull Over New Police Hiring and Developer Spending
The council’s regular meeting today features a chance for residents to see their newly elected City Council members discuss how taxpayer dollar spending priorities – laid out in the current fiscal year budget – have actually played out over the past six months.
