Writer says Orange County district attorney trivializes DNA collection by ‘selling dismissals for $75 and a spit in the bucket.’
Category: ALL TOP STORIES
All of the local news you can’t miss on what’s happening in Orange County today across all of the topics we cover.
Posted inCountywide, Top Stories
Ice Follies
KOCE reporter David Nazar’s “accidental” toppling of a work in progress of famed ice sculptor Roland Hernandez at the OC Fair has gone viral.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Orange, Top Stories
Juvenile Hall Fight Prompts Questions About Staffing Levels
County officials say a fighting incident among 27 inmates at Orange County Juvenile Hall last weekend was quickly brought under control. Union officials argue that the melee is an example of what happens when a facility is not properly staffed.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Top Stories
The Rights and Wrongs of Redevelopment
The Shops at Mission Viejo is a redevelopment success story,
while adjacent Kaleidoscope Courtyards is a redevelopment failure.
The Laguna Hills mall (pictured) never even had the chance. What do
these projects and others say about redevelopment as public
policy?
Posted inBrea, Countywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Do the Numbers Add Up for Brea’s Fire Department?
City manager assures council that a reorganization plan will realize enough savings to save the department. But firefighter’s union head calls the plan “terrible.”
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, State, Top Stories
Maintaining a Wall Between the Courtroom and the Laboratory
While DNA technology has revolutionized crime fighting, some
scientists at the forefront of DNA testing are pushing to get out
from under the control of prosecutors.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Safety, Security & Justice, State, Top Stories
Dealing for DNA
The Orange County district attorney’s ‘spit and acquit’ program
has amassed tens of thousands of DNA samples from misdemeanor
offenders. But there are questions about how the DA gets the
samples and their use.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Why the Bell Scandal Happened and What Can Be Done
The decline of the small town newspaper and holes in the state’s open government law left the door open for the enormous salaries of public officials in the Los Angeles County city. What now?
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
High-Speed Rail Board Releases Favorable Poll
The poll shows that 76 percent of Californians support high-speed rail. However, the authority did not release the questions asked of respondents.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Irvine, Top Stories
Irvine’s Underdog: Questions for Christina Shea
The Irvine city councilwoman, who will be termed out in November, talks about her successes (and failures) fighting what she believes was a career-long crusade against an unethical council majority.
