Brea City Treasurer Rick Rios along with Brea resident activist and downtown developer Dwight Manley keep pressing uncomfortable questions about the city’s main water wholesaler, Cal Domestic Water. Their probe, which has already drawn a DA review and state sanctions over past dealings, may soon be headed to OC Superior Court.
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.
Santana: Fishing Comes Back to Irvine Lake
A defunct but popular Orange County fishing spot comes back to life on Saturday, Aug. 17 after Supervisor Don Wagner – who is up for re-election next year, successfully leads negotiations with two neighboring water districts to re-open Irvine Lake, which has been shut down since 2016.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: When Sheriff’s Deputies Take the Fifth
Sheriff Don Barnes has set what is apparently a new standard at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, enforcing administrative discipline against deputies who plead Fifth Amendment protections. The OC Deputy Sheriff’s union is taking Barnes to court, saying it’s unconstitutional. But legal experts sought out by Voice of OC argue Barnes is right on.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: The Pesky Public
Keeping the public out of the loop has become an extreme sport for our elected class as well as the greatest threat to our democracy. In recent times, we’ve seen efforts here in Orange County to illegally restrict public comment, destroy public documents, squash dissenting council members, delay release of police misconduct records along with the murky process of monitoring state harassment investigations or changing federal regulations.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: We Are Not Ready
This weekend’s earthquake, centered in the community of Ridgecrest, is a stark reminder that we are all behind in terms of being ready for the big quake. Voice of OC has been working on a disaster page project this summer, with the aim of providing readers with solid coverage and resources on disaster prep and response across Orange County. Help us source and fund the page.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: State Assemblyman Bill Brough Under Fire For Alleged Harassment of Women
Brough has reportedly withdrawn his request for a re-election endorsement from the OCGOP after several women, including Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, come forward to complain about harassment.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: OC Deputy Union Pays Out $50K in Failed Bid to Seal Misconduct Records
The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs paid out nearly $50,000 to Voice of OC, the L.A. Times and Southern California Public Radio this past month after deputies lost their bid in court earlier this year to seal deputy misconduct records.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Voice of OC is Ten Years Old Today
An odd idea back in the summer of 2009 – a nonprofit, online newsroom covering local civics in a frank, nonpartisan, real time manner – has taken root in Orange County.
Posted inCountywide, Newport Beach, Norberto Santana Jr., Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories
Santana: OC Sheriff Under Fire For Illegal Takeover of Public Docks in Newport Harbor
With Memorial Day weekend signaling the unofficial start of the summer, activists are raising questions about an underused public beach and boating slips just off Bayside Drive in Newport Beach where Sheriff’s officials have illegally shut down public access. State Coastal authorities have now intervened and are working to get the public back onto the beach and boating docks established for them.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: OC Sheriff Don Barnes Moves at Sloth Pace to Release Deputy Misconduct Records
Barnes, who benefited from more than $600K in campaign cash from the same OC deputy union that fought disclosure of SB 1421 police misconduct records, has put a tiny staff on the biggest public records challenge ever, likely ensuring that Orange County taxpayers – who have paid out nearly $100 million in legal payouts from Sheriff’s Department misdeeds since 1990 – remain in the dark along with any kind of potential reform.
