Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/author/scustodio/)
Spencer Custodio joined Voice of OC as a full-time reporter covering south Orange County and Fullerton in August 2017. Previously, he worked as one of Voice of OC’s first interns starting in 2010, covering Fullerton and general assignment stories. During his time with Voice of OC, Custodio covered the Joe Felz election night car crash that lead to him being charged with a DUI (the case is ongoing). He also has been covering the Irvine Veteran’s Cemetery, a first for Orange County, that led to a land swap with a developer that divided many veterans and residents. Recently, he covered the sudden resignation of former Laguna Niguel Mayor Jerry Slusiewicz over claims of bullying and intimidation that started when Slusiewicz found a tree trimming contract that was overpaid by $410,000. Custodio graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism with extensive education in Constitutional law, public policy, economics and international law. He worked as the news editor at the student newspaper, The Daily Titan, during his last semester. Languages spoken: English Areas of expertise: Voter registration and turnout, data analysis, homelessness, Irvine and Fullerton.
The private advisory group Anaheim First, which got $250,000 from the city to study neighborhoods, is facing criticism for being a hidden business organization and is set to begin its study to make spending recommendations on $250 million in spending over the next 10 years.
The Fullerton City Council will discuss Tuesday how to handle the incoming rent increases faced by seniors living at Rancho La Paz mobile home park — which could be a rental assistance fund or a future rent control ordinance.
The City Council voted to declare a shelter crisis in Fullerton so the city can cut through the red tape of building laws to build homeless shelters faster.
Orange County’s first veterans cemetery got $20 million in state funding when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the budget, but the cemetery has yet to find a site in Irvine after battles between the city and the state legislature.
Two Placentia Police lieutenants alleged misconduct by Orange County Fire Authority firefighters Thursday, detailing incidents that happened within days of the City Council voting to form its own fire department.
The official location of the proposed Southern California Veterans Cemetery in Irvine remains unclear after the California Senate Veterans Affairs Committee moves legislation naming one site, while Irvine is looking at another one.
The Anaheim City Council voted down two separate proposed apartment rent control ordinances, after hours of public comment from renters telling how difficult the incoming rent increases will be.
Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu formed a negotiating team for a deal with the Angels, but it could fall outside of the state transparency law since it wasn’t created or voted on by the City Council.
The Anaheim Chamber of Commerce got a $425,000 no-bid contract from the city, but it isn’t a gift of public funds, according to a government ethics expert. Mayor Harry Sidhu, who pushed the contract, answered no questions about it from Councilwoman Denise Barnes.
CalOptima counted 10,000 of its members as homeless in Orange County. The count is 3,200 higher than the roughy 6,800 homeless people counted by the County in January.