Hundreds of families have been impacted by the spread of COVID-19 through at least 20 nursing homes and long term care facilities throughout Orange County.
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 inNEWS
Early Santa Ana Recall Election Results Signal Ouster for City Councilwoman Ceci Iglesias
Nearly 11,000 voters were in favor of ousting Iglesias, while more than 8,600 were opposed as of Tuesday night.
Posted inCountywide
Santa Ana Assesses Coronavirus Financial Losses, Proposes Increases on Public Safety Spending Next Year
Santa Ana’s looking at millions of dollars in financial losses from Coronavirus, as officials are preparing a new budget that proposes to increase public safety spending by $13.5 million.
Posted inNEWS
Santa Ana Voters Decide Today Whether To Recall City Councilwoman Ceci Iglesias
What happens today could set the stage for the November general election, and impact the future of Santa Ana politics. If voters want Iglesias out, they’ll have three different replacement candidates, all backed by different people, to choose from.
Posted inNEWS
Video: Orange County Goes Back to the Beach
A Voice of OC flyover captured video of beaches up and down the OC coast, to see what members of the public were doing while Coronavirus social distancing restrictions is in effect.
Posted inNEWS
Online-Only Public Comment for Poseidon Desalination Plant Public Hearing Draws Criticism
The Santa Ana Regional Quality Control Board is meeting this morning to hold a public hearing on Poseidon Water’s request for a permit renewal for their facility, which would be built on 12 acres of a power plant and produce 50 million gallons of water per day, according to water district staff.
Posted inNEWS
Westminster’s Coronavirus Loans Will Take $1.1 Million Away from Fund for Neglected West End Areas
When the Council unanimously approved the program Wednesday, they also approved the program’s funding source, which took out $1.1 million from a city fund that was initially set up for improvements to poorly maintained properties and structures in the city’s west end. Residents and watchdogs quickly pointed out that the fund is still needed for that area, but has remained untouched for years.
Posted inNEWS
Amid Leadership Vacuum, Westminster Looks to Outside Consultants for Coronavirus Economic Recovery
Ever since a leadership vacuum opened up among city executives the city hasn’t had someone at City Hall focused specifically on economic development, according to staff.
Posted inNEWS
City of Anaheim Extends Evictions Ban Through End of June
The ban, initially set to expire at the end of this month, will remain in effect through June 30, after council members voted to direct interim City Manager Greg Garcia to extend the original order — enacted in March — through his emergency powers.
Posted inNEWS
Anaheim’s Emergency Coronavirus Evictions Ban Gets Another Shot At Extension
A simple majority of the City Council could vote for acting City Manager Greg Garcia to extend the current evictions ban past May through his emergency authority.
