A new, controversial initiative could be a small step towards bridging the digital divide.
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 inHousing & Homelessness
Where Does OC’s Homelessness Spending Actually Go? Here’s What We Found Out
OC is on track for a major drop in homelessness spending as certain state and federal money scales back. But the county could be getting a massive boost later this year from an enormous new state program to convert motels into homeless housing.
Posted inGovernment
OC Moves to Boost Veterans Cemetery in Anaheim by $20 Million From General Fund
The county’s contribution is the latest development in a roughly 10-year battle to get a cemetery in Orange County after political infighting in Irvine stalled two proposed sites there.
Posted inSOUTH COUNTY
$8 Million Total in Property Tax Refunds Are Headed to Many South OC Homeowners
Thousands of property owners are about to get some of their money back, averaging about $400 per parcel.
Posted inGovernment
County Moves Forward With Large Party Honoring Staff, Hours After Body Was Found in Lake Next Door
At 2 p.m., sheriff officials were on site conducting the investigation. Starting at 3 p.m., county officials planned to hold a major appreciation cookout for coronavirus workers next to the lake.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Another No-Show from Most of OC’s Homelessness Commission After Months of Canceled Meetings
As homeless deaths climb to record levels in OC, most of the county’s homelessness commission again failed to show up to their every-other-month meeting.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Officials Wonder if OC Will Be Ready to House 1,000 Homeless People When the Money Rolls In
As OC readies to house more than 1,000 homeless people with new federal vouchers there remains a host of unanswered questions about what services will be provided and who will coordinate.
Posted inGovernment
OC Veterans Cemetery Could Get $20 Million Boost from County Under New Proposal
The proposal – slated for a vote on July 27 – is the latest move since supervisors this month publicly doubled down on their support of the cemetery site in Gypsum Canyon just east of Anaheim Hills, which would move the planned site from former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine.
Posted inGovernment
Officials Shut Down Public Presentation of Multi-Million Dollar Mile Square Park Plan
When a county supervisor tried this week to have staff publicly present where taxpayer money would be going at Mile Square Park, she got shut down.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Over 1,000 More Homes for OC’s Homeless Could Be Coming, Funded by Federal Covid Relief
It comes amid a separate effort by the county and state to massively expand a program to buy and convert motels into homeless housing with on-site support services.
