Councilman Jose Solorio proposed keeping the ICE contract, saying it helps detained immigrants stay close to their families and attorneys. Immigration activists loudly opposed it calling Solorio a “Latino Trump.”
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 inCountywide, Santa Ana, Top Stories
Santa Ana Council Approves New Limits on Food Trucks
City officials say they sought a reasonable balance that respected the trucks’ important role in the city, while reducing some of the negative impacts.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Top Stories
Complaint to FAA: Campaign Contribs Caused “Bias” by OC Sups on Airport Contract
Signature Flight Support alleges supervisors were biased toward their campaign donors and violated federal rules in awarding a major lease at John Wayne Airport to the fifth-ranked bidder.
Posted inCountywide, News Briefs, Santa Ana, Top Stories
Santa Ana ICE Contract Could Get Revived
City council to discuss whether to keep the city’s jail contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Top Stories
Understaffing Means Thousands of Calls for Social Services Help Go Unanswered, Union Says
About 26,000 calls went unanswered in January, according to the union for social services eligibility workers. In response, Supervisor Shawn Nelson has pointed to the fact that Sacramento returns a very low portion of property taxes to Orange County.
Posted inCountywide, Top Stories
Supervisor Andrew Do Loses Bid for CalOptima Chair
Do suggested his “ethnicity” had a role in opposition to him, saying the board’s vice chairman unfairly compared him to his former boss, Janet Nguyen.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Top Stories
Airport Controversy Heats Up as Supervisors Award Contract to Low-Ranked Firm
An intense battle over a lucrative John Wayne Airport lease further ratcheted up Tuesday, with promises of legal action after Orange County supervisors granted the lease to a firm that was ranked fifth out of six by the county’s evaluation panel.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories, Transportation
FAA Looking Into Why OC Supervisors Chose Low-Ranked Firm for Major Airport Lease
Federal aviation officials are now digging into the awarding of a lucrative John Wayne Airport lease to a company that was ranked fifth by the county’s official evaluation panel.
Posted inCountywide, Top Stories, Transportation
Housing Shortage is Threatening Orange County’s Middle Class, Researchers Warn
There’s a serious risk of the county eventually becoming an economy of low-wage “servants” and wealthy homeowners, unless there’s a stronger focus on expanding the housing supply, according to Chapman University researchers who are advising county officials.
Posted inCountywide, Housing & Homelessness, Top Stories
New Court Order Protects Homeless People’s Property Along Santa Ana River
The order requires a physical notice 24 hours before seizing property and mandates that “essential items” like tents, sleeping bags, and medical papers be stored within one mile of where they were taken.
