OC Supervisors are the latest elected officials to criticize a proposal to gradually switch Southern Californians to electric water heaters and furnaces – a move that could cost people nearly $20,000.
Author Archives: Hosam Elattar
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC/ Report For America reporter covering Anaheim & North Orange County, food insecurity, housing & homelessness, the Arab & Muslim American community and education.
Elattar started at Voice of OC as an intern in January, 2020 and has covered local food banks’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, School board debates on how to teach history, the decades long push by Arab American business owners to recognize Little Arabia and a corruption scandal at Anaheim City Hall.
He has won several awards from the OC Press Club including Best News Story, Best Political Story and Best Religion Story.
Elattar is Egyptian American and has lived in Botswana, Nepal, Uganda, The Dominican Republic and India.
Posted inSanta Ana
Santa Ana Officials to Assess Risks of Publicly Disclosing ICE Activity in the City
City staff is expected to come back with answers to a host of questions on the risks and impacts of Santa Ana leaders disclosing ICE courtesy calls to the public.
Posted inSafety, Security & Justice
Federal Prosecutors Recommend 5 Years in Prison for Former OC Supervisor Andrew Do
Federal prosecutors are calling for the maximum sentence against Do after he pleaded guilty to bribery while he and his friends are asking for a lighter sentence.
Posted inSafety, Security & Justice
An OC Senator Pushes to Fund Drug Court Programs Across California
State legislators are considering two bills aimed at setting standards and helping fund drug court programs as law enforcement across California starts arresting people under Prop. 36 – a statewide street crime law adopted by voters last year.
Posted inAnaheim
Anaheim Cracks Down on Shady Smoke Shops
Anaheim officials are looking to crack down and tighten regulations on local smoke shops as police raise concerns that some of them have become hubs for illegal activity.
Posted inAnaheim
Anaheim Institutes New Oversight on Tourism Bureau After Searing State Audit
Anaheim officials approved an agreement with the city’s controversial tourism bureau to market the Disneyland resort with new oversight and transparency measures after a state audit found improper tourism tax dollar spending.
Posted inAnaheim
Disneyland Resort Interests Are Reorganizing in Anaheim After Corruption Scandal
Anaheim’s main resort interests are regrouping and reorganizing in the wake of the corruption scandal that showed just how much influence they wielded over city hall.
Posted inSanta Ana
Santa Ana Bans Whippets
Santa Ana City Council members are the latest elected officials in Orange County to adopt an ordinance banning the sale of nitrous oxide for recreational drug use.
Posted inSanta Ana
Will Santa Ana Alert Residents of ICE Activity Amid Federal Immigration Crackdown?
Police Chief Robert Rodriguez responds to questions on whether top city executives were forthright about ICE activity in Santa Ana as some call for public disclosures of federal immigration agents courtesy calls to his department.
Posted inSafety, Security & Justice
Orange County Still Grapples With Street Takeovers
Law enforcement in at least two big police departments in OC are reporting a decrease in reckless driving exhibitions that grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
