After creek team activists convinced OC officials earlier this summer to authorize a year-long pilot studying how the creek thrives without herbicides, officials announced they’re going to start cutting back vegetation July 21.
Author Archives: Norberto Santana Jr.
Norberto Santana, Jr. is an experienced investigative reporter, serving as founding publisher and editor-in-chief for Voice of OC, overseeing newsroom, engagement and fundraising operations.
He’s also an award-winning columnist, focusing his efforts on First Amendment issues and local government, being recognized multiple years by the Orange County Press Club as the region’s best columnist.
The LA Press Club has named him a Journalist of the Year (2018) and the Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has recognized him as a “Distinguished Journalist.” The California Chicano News Media Association has honored him with a lifetime achievement award and the national News Leaders Association has recognized him for his commitment to diverse staffing and coverage.
Santana is a pioneer in the field of nonprofit news having served on the board of directors for the national trade group for nonprofit newsrooms, the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). He also has served on boards of the national nonprofit advocating investigative journalism, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the California First Amendment advocacy group, CalAware.
In addition to journalism, Santana also teaches public affairs and investigative journalism as an adjunct faculty professor at Chapman University.
Before founding Voice of OC in 2009, Santana was a lead investigative reporter for the Orange County Register, focusing on county government. He spent nearly two decades covering local governments across Southern California, previously as a staff writer at the San Diego Union Tribune and San Bernardino County Sun.
Santana began his journalistic career as an apprentice reporter with Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C. covering daily floor action in the U.S. Congress and followed that up with a stint covering the territorial Senate for the U.S. Virgin Islands Daily News.
Languages spoken: English and Spanish
Posted inGovernment
Santana: OC Pays Full-Time For Part-Time County Supervisors
Orange County Supervisors’ summer vacation should raise questions about their full-time pay and part-time work schedules
Posted inTop Stories
Santana: Is It Time to Overhaul Orange County’s Government?
As 250th Fourth of July celebrations gear up, the latest UCI-OC Poll shows support for restructuring the board of supervisors and electing a county chief executive.
Posted inTop Stories
OC District Attorney Lambasts Supervisors For Silencing Public Debate On Budget
District Attorney Todd Spitzer says outgoing County CEO Michelle Aguirre told him county supervisors don’t want public discussions about the $10 Billion county budget, much less community needs that went unmet.
Posted inTop Stories
Santana: Politician Spending Accounts Fuel Banana Republic Politics Across OC
Despite recent grand jury warnings, OC Supervisors tomorrow are ready to vote to keep spending and creating multi-million dollar, taxpayer-funded discretionary spending accounts.
Posted inTop Stories
Santana: OC’s Treasurer/Tax Collector Protests County Supervisors’ Budget Ax After Voter Mandate
Shari Friedenrich is saying county budget reductions to her office could imperil property tax collections and distributions.
Posted inCountywide
Santana: Are Republicans Poised to Retake OC Board of Supervisors?
Primary election returns put OC Republicans on top in two of three county supervisors races along with every single countywide office, including Treasurer/Tax Collector.
Posted inState
Santana: Industrial Business Regulations Get Fresh Look in Wake of Garden Grove Evacuation
A debate over allowing industrial businesses operating in neighborhoods to be exempted from state environmental laws today gets a different framing as state senators are expected to consider a rollback with SB 954.
Posted inCountywide
Santana: State VA Greenlights Orange County Vet Cemetery at Gypsum Canyon
More than a decade in the making, state officials earlier this month announced completion of a critical viability study for a veterans cemetery.
Posted inPolitics & Elections
Santana: Who Should Be Managing OC’s $16 Billion Investment Pool?
Voice of OC conducted a Q&A for two candidates running to be the county treasurer – the incumbent and one of her deputies.
