Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/author/ngerda/)
Nick covers the city of Santa Ana, as well as the County of Orange, often reporting on issues like homelessness, public safety, mental health, and the role of money in politics. Since joining Voice of OC in 2011, Nick has regularly shed light on topics that are often kept in the shadows. He’s reported on systemic problems in the county’s mental health system. He also led a reporting team that produced sophisticated looks at how the Disney corporation campaign contributions influenced recent elections in Anaheim. Nick also revealed evidence of elected leaders using their official powers to apparently pressure government contractors into donating to their election campaigns, in an article that was awarded best news story of the year by the Orange County Press Club. He firmly believes journalism should inform the public and help hold the powerful accountable. An Orange County native, Nick first started covering local government in his mid-teens, before attending Santa Ana College, the American University in Cairo, and UC Irvine, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Languages spoken: English, elementary Spanish, minimal Arabic and minimal Japanese Areas of expertise: Local government, local politics, homelessness, mental health policy, campaign finance, California Public Records Act, Ralph M. Brown Act, County of Orange government, Santa Ana city government and municipal finance.
As of Tuesday, 301 people were hospitalized with coronavirus in OC, up 67 percent from a month ago, according to mandatory data reported by hospitals to the California Department of Public Health.
There was no discussion of the criteria that would be used for businesses to get financial support.
“It is imperative that Orange County residents have a clear picture about the number of recoveries and recovery rates from COVID-19,” supervisors’ Chairwoman Michelle Steel told Voice of OC in a statement Wednesday.
After being questioned by Voice of OC, Orange County Health Care Agency officials now say they’re now looking at publishing a more consistent picture of coronavirus hospitalizations, after weeks of posting optional data that’s missing some hospitals on most days.
As retail sales plummet during the pandemic, local governments across America are facing massive budget holes. Orange County is no exception.
“The United States Supreme Court has long recognized that the Constitution ‘does not import an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly free from constraint,’ ” wrote OC Superior Court Judge Nathan R. Scott.
“We’re going to struggle to meet the basic funding needs for our district attorney and the sheriff,” county CEO Frank Kim said at a news conference Thursday in response to questions from Voice of OC.
Also known as serology tests, the antibody tests currently have a high rate of false positives and immunity, experts say, with county health officials cautioning they’re not yet recommended for individual tests and immunity is not yet understood for COVID-19.
All seven of Orange County’s members of Congress are demanding to know why people who live in OC are getting coronavirus tests at far lower rates than San Diego and Riverside counties and what’s being done to increase access.
April was the deadliest month for Orange County’s homeless in at least five years, according to the coroner data. Most of the deaths are still under investigation.