Independent Juan Villegas and Republican Cecilia Iglesias want more community investment from their city budget, opposing a police union push for a $25 million pay raise package. All of the Santa Ana Democrats on the city council back police pay raises. Villegas and Iglesias now face recall.
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: Newport Residents Lead Organizing Efforts Against JWA Private Jet Expansion
Orange County supervisors on Tuesday will consider a plan to grow executive jet flight operations at John Wayne Airport, which has sparked intense opposition from neighbors who question campaign contribution connections to OC supervisors as well as environmental impacts.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Stage Set For ACLU Vs. County of Orange Fight Over Public Comment Rules
After years of protest, the ACLU heads into superior court next month against the County of Orange seeking a court injunction against restrictive public comment rules. The hearing is scheduled for June 12 at 10 am in Dept. C25 in front of Judge Sheila Fell.
Posted inCountywide, Norberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Given Campaign Cash for OC Supervisors, Newport Beach Residents Right to Worry About JWA Expansion Plans
Newport Beach residents are wary of expansion plans at John Wayne Airport to open a new private, executive jet terminal. While county officials says executive jets are a small part of revenues, a Voice of OC analysis of campaign filings shows a different nexus: campaign contributions to county supervisors from private jet contractors and their business associates. JWA expansion plans are up for approval next month by Orange County airport commissions on May 1 and by county supervisors on May 7.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Angels Stadium Negotiations Trash Public’s Right to Know
An Anaheim city council action last month endeavoring to keep stadium deliberations with the Angels confidential is not only sad and ineffective for building public support it’s also likely illegal. This week, council members also consider even limiting their own ability speak from the dais.
Posted inCountywide, Norberto Santana Jr.
Santana: OC Supervisors Attack on Free Speech, Comes Under Attack
Following a systematic attack on public comment, the Orange County Board of Supervisors triggers a First Amendment lawsuit from the ACLU. It’s the second time in recent years that county supervisors have fumbled taxpayers into court — landing in federal court last year over civil rights violations involving the homeless.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Quick Housing Options Needed to Spur OC Homelessness Efforts
Federal District Judge David O. Carter checks in with the County of Orange and local cities this week to gauge progress on homelessness. Carter declared a public emergency earlier this year following the news that more than 200 homeless people died over the last year, just ahead of a scathing ACLU report on conditions at county shelters, which are overcrowded because of the lack of progress on establishing permanent supportive housing.
Posted inCountywide, Top Stories
Santana: OC State Lawmakers Jump Back Into The Fight For a Veterans Cemetery
State lawmakers back the original site for a veterans’ cemetery just after Irvine planning commissioners vote for another option at a nearby site originally proposed as a golf course.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Has Orange County’s Blue Wave Crashed?
Orange County’s Blue Wave officially crested and crashed earlier this month during a Third Supervisorial District special election that actually saw Republicans outdo Democrats in terms of getting their voters out to the polls on Election Day.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: California News Media Partnership Forms to Publish Police Misconduct Records
Voice of OC today joins nearly three dozen newsrooms across California that have forged a rare collaborative to report about police misconduct files that recently became available for public review under California’s new police transparency law, SB 1421.
