The forum, which was held near the proposed site in Anaheim, drew more than 600 people and featured 93 speakers.
Author Archives: Nick Gerda
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.
Posted inGovernment, Top Stories
Good Karma: OC Supervisors Now Acting to Save Wolf Dog
At a special meeting on the issue Monday, supervisors narrowly voted reverse an earlier decision and seek the transfer of a wolf-hybrid named “Karma” to a sanctuary in North Carolina rather than have her be euthanized.
Posted inGovernment, Health & Wellness, Housing & Homelessness, Top Stories
Supervisor Says Orange County Needs ‘Homeless Czar’
Supervisor Andrew Do is proposing that the county choose a single point person to keep track of the plethora of county services and figure out how to improve their effectiveness.
Posted inGovernment, Investigative, News Briefs, Top Stories
Nelson Pushes New Site for Animal Shelter
Impatient with a grindingly slow effort to build a replacement for the’s county 74 year-old animal shelter, Supervisor Shawn Nelson has identified a potential site that he hopes will speed along the process.
Posted inGovernment, News Briefs, Top Stories
County Officials Reject Effort to Save Wolf Dog
An online petition drive, calling for the dog, named Karma, to instead be transferred to a wolf sanctuary in the Mojave Desert, has generated over 300,000 signatures worldwide.
Posted inGovernment, News Briefs, Top Stories
Supervisors Strike Deal on Controversial COIN Ordinance
The move to suspend the Civic Openness in Negotiations (COIN) ordinance paves the way for labor negotiations to begin with the Orange County Employees Association, which represents two-thirds of the county’s 18,000-member workforce.
Posted inGovernment, Top Stories
Supervisors Appear Ready to Support an Ethics Commission
After years of resistance, supervisors now seem willing back a ballot initiative that would establish an ethics commission as long as they continue to have a say in how it is created and the rules under which it will operate.
Posted inGovernment, News Briefs, Top Stories
Supervisors to Discuss Ethics Commission Proposal
A report commissioned by the board takes issue with parts of political watchdog Shirley Grindle’s proposal for an ethics panel, particularly regarding who appoints members and how extensive their subpoena powers should be.
Posted inAnaheim, Health & Wellness
Residents Cheer Anaheim’s Proposed Voting Districts
With enthusiastic support from broad range of Anaheim community members, a panel of retired judges this week officially endorsed a map for the city’s first voting districts. Now it is up to Anaheim City Council members to decide whether they like the maps.
Posted inCountywide, Health & Wellness, Santa Ana, Top Stories
What to Do With Santa Ana’s Sudden Surplus?
Just a few years after facing bankruptcy, city leaders now have the pleasant challenge of how to handle more than $13 million in extra money.
