Most county employees – including mental health workers, public health nurses, social workers, and sheriff’s special officers – will receive a 2.5 percent raise in the coming months.
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 inAnaheim, Costa Mesa, Countywide, Government, Housing & Homelessness, Orange, Safety, Security & Justice, Santa Ana, Top Stories
OC Needle Exchange Plans to Open in September, as County Asks Court to Block It
The program faces staunch opposition from the county and the four cities where the state authorized it to operate. A court hearing on whether to block it could come later this month or next month.
Posted inGovernment, Top Stories
Supervisors’ Secret Policymaking is Updated Amid Legal Questions
“The public gets very suspect, and sometimes rightfully so, that…the board is formulating policy behind closed doors,” said Supervisor Todd Spitzer.
Posted inAnaheim, Housing & Homelessness, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice
Policeman Confronts Reporter For Taking Photos of Him Detaining Homeless Man
American courts have held the public and journalists have the right to film government officials, including police, carrying out official actions in public.
Posted inAnaheim, Costa Mesa, Government, Health & Wellness, Housing & Homelessness, Orange, Santa Ana, Top Stories
Orange County Seeks Court Order Blocking Needle Exchange
Orange County is seeking an emergency court order blocking Monday’s re-opening of a state-authorized needle exchange program.
Posted inAnaheim, Costa Mesa, Countywide, Government, Housing & Homelessness, Orange, Safety, Security & Justice, Santa Ana, Top Stories
With Hundreds of Homeless Back on Streets, Judge Sets Friday Hearing
The hearing is in response to the closure of armory shelters, which pushed over 200 homeless people into local communities where it’s illegal to camp in public.
Posted inEconomy, Emergencies & Disasters, Government, Housing & Homelessness, Outdoors, Top Stories, Yorba Linda
Fire Evacuation Issues Force County Re-Do of 340-Home Development
An appeals court blocked the Esperanza Hills project because supervisors approved it without minimum evacuation standards.
Posted inGovernment, Politics & Elections, Top Stories
County Names Candidates and Donors Who May Have Exceeded Campaign Limits
Orange County officials released the names of six candidates and 18 donors involved in returned campaign donations that may have exceeded legal limits, after previously declining to make them public.
Posted inGovernment, Investigative, Top Stories
State Investigating Conflict Allegations Against Supervisor Andrew Do
The probe centers on Do’s involvement in contract decisions at CalOptima, the county’s health care organization for low-income and elderly people.
Posted inGovernment, Investigative, Politics & Elections, Top Stories
County Won’t Name Everyone Who Broke Campaign Money Laws
Supervisors structured the county enforcement so that when violators are caught by the county enforcement officials, they can return the illegal money and the matter goes away quietly.
