Voters are deciding on a council member who will potentially impact key decisions on local issues like the ongoing homelessness crisis and complaints about slow 9-1-1 response times.
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 inInvestigative, State
OC Fairgrounds CEO Sacked
OC Fair Board Directors have ousted their embattled CEO, Kathy Kramer, following recent controversy over her fundraising relationship with a private Christian college and news she’s leaving the county for another fair agency in Washington early next year. Kramer is alleging board retaliation for participating in a 2018 investigation into allegations of misconduct by two former board members.
Posted inGovernment, Investigative, NEWS, Politics & Elections, REGIONS, Santa Ana
Six Candidates Want Santa Ana’s Ward 4 Council Seat in a Nov. 5 Special Election
A vacancy in the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 4 seat — formerly held by Roman Reyna before he stepped down earlier this year amid allegations of election fraud — has attracted six candidates vying to win the upcoming November special election to fill his now vacant seat.
Posted inState
Fate of OC Fairgrounds CEO Kathy Kramer Remains Unclear After Fundraising Controversy
OC Fairgrounds board directors today are expected to issue a statement on the future of Kathy Kramer as CEO following revelations about fundraising ties to a nearby college and news Kramer is leaving her post in February.
Posted inInvestigative, News Briefs, Safety, Security & Justice, Westminster
Mark Lauderback Selected As New Westminster Police Chief
Westminster’s embattled Police Department has found its next permanent police chief in Mark Lauderback, a previous deputy chief who stepped in temporarily amid the abrupt retirement of former chief Ralph Ornelas and four wrongdoing lawsuits against the department this year.
Posted inGarden Grove, Government, NEWS, Outdoors, REGIONS, Santa Ana, Top Stories
Willowick Golf Course Sale Put on Hold
Garden Grove city officials have put on hold selling off the Willowick Golf Course – owned by Garden Grove and located in Santa Ana – to a for-profit developer and will instead abide by the state Surplus Land Act, which means they’ll look at affordable housing options for the site first.
Posted inInvestigative, NEWS, State
OC Fairgrounds CEO Kathy Kramer to Leave Post
Fair officials confirmed Kramer’s departure, which comes after Voice of OC revealed Kramer sat on the fundraising board for a private college that the fairgrounds has given state money to.
Posted inInvestigative, NEWS, State, Top Stories
OC Fairgrounds Gave More than $100K in State Money to Private College while Fairgrounds CEO Sat on the School’s Fundraising Board
Orange County Fairgrounds CEO Kathy Kramer joined the fundraising board for Vanguard University, a private Christian college, in 2017. Since then, the fairgrounds has paid the school over $100,000 in contracts and sponsorship deals brought up to the fairgrounds Board of Directors by her staff.
Posted inCountywide, Government, NEWS, REGIONS, Safety, Security & Justice, Santa Ana, Top Stories
Santa Ana Will Weigh Becoming the Next OC City with a Police Oversight Board
The City of Anaheim is currently the only city in Orange County with a civilian police review board. Santa Ana City Council members this Tuesday will talk about joining those ranks.
Posted inGovernment, Laguna Beach, NEWS, Politics & Elections
One City Councilman and His Critics Have Laguna Beach in Uproar
Critics of Laguna Beach City Councilman Peter Blake say he’s created a culture of hostility at City Hall and his opponents are now reluctant to attend meetings. He says his critics are just a “vocal minority.”
