Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/community-opinion/)
Short Term Rentals (STRs) are portrayed as harmless ways for property owners to make money. The harm starts when the STRs open and bring problems into neighborhoods. More harm is caused when residents are pushed out of homes to convert homes to STRs. Banning STRs eliminates these harms.
Short Term Rentals (STRs) operate across an astonishing 220+ countries worldwide but are, by design, small and local home-based businesses. They provide affordable lodgings for visitors and generate revenue for homeowners and cities through tourism and tax dollars – all increasingly important as we look toward a post pandemic economic recovery.
Despite some misperceptions, Orange County results showed strong gains for Democrats up and down the ballot, and national elections offer insight into how we can mobilize under-represented communities.
Sheriff Don Barnes’s appeal has misconstrued the court order that sought to implement heightened public health restrictions at county jails. Cities must withdraw their support from the legal action, and it is incumbent upon local government officials to urge the sheriff to follow the court order.
SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union is the largest financial institution in Orange County. Credit unions are known as cooperatives – democratic organizations owned and controlled by its members. The board members of SchoolsFirst seem to believe they are exempt from the democratic process.
The 2020 Longest Night Memorial lists the 329 Persons who died “without fixed abode” in Orange County from Dec 1, 2019 – Nov 30, 2020.
The recent wildfires in Orange County serve as a wake-up call: local action on climate change is urgently needed. As large wildfires become increasingly common, so too will post-fire floods. The good news is local solutions already exist; the question remains whether we will act on them.
President-elect Joe Biden must repair the tattered safety net that has allowed veterans to fall into the waiting arms of unscrupulous executives who see them as “dollar signs in uniform.” His predecessor described war dead as “suckers” and “losers”, and enabled industry to defraud veterans and gorge on federal funding.
In her piece, Karen Rodriguez, born and raised in Santa Ana, CA and an organizer for the Rise Up Willowick coalition, responds to Kelsey Brewer’s, of Jamboree Housing, Op-Ed piece. Rodriguez dispels Brewers’ claims that Jamboree’s proposal responds to the needs of residents. Rodriguez portrays residents’ needs and vision for the Willowick Golf course based on ongoing community outreach and organizing that began nearly two years ago. For decades, residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the Willowick Golf Course, Buena Clinton in Garden Grove and Santa Anita in Santa Ana, have experienced disinvestment; however their vision is clear. The community will not be tokenized by the City or developers; they have the right to self-determine the future of their neighborhood.
Affordable housing on surplus land can be a win for city budgets and for communities facing rising housing costs