Also up for approval is a lifting of the requirement that the upper salary range for political aides – roughly $54 per hour to $60 per hour – be reserved only for employees with “outstanding performance.”
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
Sheriff’s Retroactive Requests Draw Concern from Some County Supervisors
Two county supervisors – Chairman Todd Spitzer and Michelle Steel – are questioning why the sheriff’s department has sought five retroactive approvals for contracts and invoices since the start of this year, totaling just over $160,000.
Posted inCountywide, Huntington Beach, Top Stories
Ocean Desalination Proposal to Be Discussed at Series of Public Meetings
A “citizens advisory committee” will review the proposed negotiation points, known as the draft term sheet, before a possible adoption by the board on April 30.
Posted inCountywide, News Briefs, Top Stories
Proposed Ocean Desalination Plant to be Discussed Today at Water Board Meeting
A strong turnout is expected at today’s meeting of the Orange County Water District board, where board members are slated to move forward with their consideration of the Poseidon project.
Posted inGovernment, News Briefs, Top Stories
Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Using Civilian Correctional Workers in Jails
County officials say the shift of duties was not only lawful but fiscally prudent, while the deputies’ union said the county violated meet-and-confer requirements and that the union’s board weighing their legal options regarding the appeal.
Posted inCanyons, Government, News Briefs, Top Stories
Canyons Home Development Gets Go-Ahead from Appeals Court
The controversial Saddle Crest development might be built after all, following an appeals court ruling that reversed a lower court’s rejection of the project.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories, Transportation
Bus Contractor at Center of Ethics Accusations Loses Out on Recommendation
The Orange County Transportation Authority’s transit committee agreed with staff’s recommendation of a different contractor, Cincinnati-based First Transit, Inc., for the outsourced fixed-route bus services.
Posted inEmergencies & Disasters, Government, Top Stories, Yorba Linda
Amid Wildfire Concerns, Proposed Housing Project Near Yorba Linda is Put on Hold
The hotly contested project has been temporarily put on hold Tuesday, after a well-organized group of residents said lives would be put at even greater risk when the area faces another wildfire.
Posted inGovernment, Top Stories, Yorba Linda
Controversial Housing Project Near Yorba Linda Up for Approval Today
Orange County supervisors are about to make one of their most significant decisions about land development in years, with a decision slated Tuesday on a 340-unit housing project in the hills above Yorba Linda called Esperanza Hills.
Posted inGovernment, Health & Wellness, Top Stories
OC Sheriff Argues for Alternative to Jailing Low-Level Offenders
Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is making the case for home detention, an approach to jailing that would have been largely unheard of in the “tough on crime” days of the 1980s and 90s. Supervisor Todd Spitzer is against such options, saying any jail sentences should be served as fully as possible.
