Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/author/squick/)
Sonya Quick is digital editor for Voice of OC overseeing civic engagement (social media, email and civic engagement), digital fundraising, marketing and design (across-device user experience and digital storytelling). Quick joined Voice of OC in November 2016 and has since managed the first #NewsMatch fundraising drive, re-imagined the Voice of OC logo and visual brand and launched a website redesign. In June 2017, Voice of OC was awarded top news website design by the Los Angeles Press Club. Prior to Voice of OC, Quick worked for eight years at the Orange County Register in a variety of roles including: the organization’s first mobile editor, social media manager, web and blog editor, infographics reporter and reporter. During that time, Quick helped create a mobile strategy for Freedom Communications, launched the first Register mobile apps, helped re-imagine the Register’s disaster plan for the digital age, helped transform community coverage, managed the Register’s 50+ blogs, developed a trial Register community wiki, covered Irvine and launched a mobile apps technology blog a year before the iTunes App Store was unveiled. Quick has been a member of the Society of Professional Journalists since 2003. She served as region 11 director in 2008 and as national student representative in 2004. Quick graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in English literature Languages spoken: English Areas of expertise: Digital storytelling, social media, infographics, data reporting, mobile and web design, news marketing, non-profit fundraising.
Gerda will be discussing his recent article about the county halting census outreach grants to the city of Santa Ana and the local school district. City and school district officials say the grant cuts are payback for their public concerns about a proposed county homeless shelter, which county officials dispute. A final decision on the grants is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Residents, experts and environmental advocates gathered at a Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board meeting last Friday to oppose a permit for the Poseidon Water desalination facility in Huntington Beach.
Some Tustin Ranch homeowners are continuing their fight against the approval of a nearby Costco gas station by filing a lawsuit to stop the project approved by the Tustin City Council.
Stanton City Council members are expected to vote Dec. 10 on extending a temporary ban on establishing new massage parlors for a year. Editors’ Note: This dispatch is part of the Voice of OC Youth Media program, working with student journalists to cover public policy issues across Orange County. If you would like to submit your own student media project related to Orange County civics or if you have any response to this work, contact Digital Editor Sonya Quick at squick@voiceofoc.org. The moratorium was deemed necessary early this year because of illegal activity occurring in parlors, including human trafficking, prostitution, having unlicensed technicians and personnel, and unsanitary conditions, according to a city staff report.
The ban was first put into place on Jan.
Huntington Beach City Council members vote unanimously on Monday, Dec. 2, to extend an invitation to the City of Biarritz, France to become it’s Sister City.
Laguna Beach aims to firm up laws to regulate outdoor displays and portable signage littering the sidewalks of the downtown area, eventually adding fines for those businesses that run afoul of the regulations.
At tonight’s public hearing, downtown merchants can voice their opinion in favor or against the Downtown Santa Ana Business Improvement District (BID) renewal to councilmembers. The hearing is a part of the annual business license tax assessment of the BID.
The announcement marks the single biggest hiring announcement of journalists in recent memory—and comes as a direct response to the worsening crisis in local news across the country.
Voice of OC Senior Editor Paul Hodgins won a first place award in the National Arts Entertainment Journalism Awards.
Voice of OC Ambassadors recently lauded three community leaders who have made a difference through penning editorials in the Voice opinion section.
The exclusive event at Zov’s Bistro included invitations for donors who support Voice of OC at a minimum of $1,000 every year or $84 every month, called Ambassadors. Right now is the best time to become an Ambassador because contributions are tripled by the national NewsMatch fund and a local matching fund. “One of the things I’m most proud of at Voice is our Op-Ed writers,” said Voice of OC Publisher and Founder Norberto Santana, Jr. “They take up their pens and take action in the community — spurring vibrant discussions.”
Santana told VOC Ambassadors that the Opinion section is an integral piece of building a civically engaged community allowing residents to express local policy ideas in a coherent and respectful manner. The Opinion section also reaches people who influence or make important decisions in the community offering them a chance to gage community opinion, Santana added. “No matter who you are, you can stand toe to toe with the community decision makers on that Op-Ed page and make your point,” Santana said.
