The County of Orange is failing taxpayers when it comes to disseminating public information about the coronavirus pandemic.
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 inCountywide, Norberto Santana Jr., Top Stories
Santana: Orange County Supervisors Effort to Extend Term Limits is Back
Supervisors are again expected to hear a proposal that would ask voters this coming November to consider creating a three-term, 12-year life term limit for county supervisors.
Posted inCountywide
Santana: Orange County Supervisors May Ask Voters to Extend Term Limits
OC supervisors today are expected to consider placing an initiative on the November ballot establishing a lifetime, three-term limit for a county supervisor.
Posted inCountywide
Santana: Orange County Supervisors Kill Off John Wayne Airport Renaming Discussion
Going into Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting, it looks as if there’s no official appetite to put the renaming issue up for a formal discussion, much less a vote.
Posted inCountywide
Santana: Could Orange County Voters Decide the Fate of John Wayne Name on Airport?
Pencil in the John Wayne Airport naming battle onto the list of potential races that could tell us a lot about the new Orange County come this fall.
Posted inCountywide
Santana: Who Will Stand up for Santa Ana and Anaheim on Coronavirus Impacts?
Since Coronavirus broke out, county supervisors have spent most of their time on the public dais reacting to public health restrictions like mask orders or closures of beaches.
Posted inCountywide, Emergencies & Disasters, Norberto Santana Jr., Top Stories
Orange County Public Health Officer Abruptly Resigns Under Pressure Over Mask Order
Orange County’s Public Health Officer Nicole Quick abruptly resigned on Monday night after several intense weeks defending a mask order that quickly became controversial.
Posted inCountywide
How Do You Best Spend $75 Million in Fed Funds to Help OC Recover from Coronavirus?
Many OC mayors want direct access to a $75 million county bailout fund set up for cities. A majority of county supervisors want a central administrator to distribute the funds instead of just directing monies to local city halls for a local business grant program. Biggest unanswered question is in what areas, sectors to invest the money.
Posted inCountywide
Santana: CA Gov. Newsom Forced Beach Closures in OC Stir Local Partisanship
Orange County Republicans come out swinging against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s singling out of Orange County for bad beach behavior and an ensuing beach ban with OC GOP Chairman Fred Whitaker calling him “King Gavin: and calling for more localized health care decision making. Local Democratic Party Chief Ada Briceño backs Newsom’s closure effort and blames Republican-led local bodies like the board of supervisors for being behind on public health and forcing the governor to take action to protect public safety. Meanwhile, Orange County’s coastal cities scramble to figure out whether to fight or help enforce the governor’s initiative.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Newly Appointed Orange County Public Health Official Hired to Tackle Coronavirus Once Was Fined By State For Failing to Report Pharmaceutical Payments
Orange County’s newly-appointed Health Care Agency Director Clayton Chau – a well known clinician and public health executive known for his mental health expertise with immigrant communities – was fined by state authorities back in 2014 for failing to disclose lucrative drug company speaking fees from AstraZeneca and other pharmaceutical companies from 2009 to 2012 while he was worked as a top psychiatrist at HCA.
