Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/great-recession/)
Just as the Angels re-open talks with the city to renew their stadium lease, team officials are opposing a proposed $500 million mixed-use project in the Platinum Triangle next to the stadium, saying it would quash their own development plans.
Bus riders pack an Orange County Transportation Authority hearing Monday to voice their concerns about planned route cuts that could threaten their livelihoods and keep them from making it to doctor’s appointments.
While the number of people riding public buses took a hit nationwide after the Great Recession, Orange County’s 30 percent decline since 2008 is the worst among Southern California counties.
Emphasizing the public transit dependence of the city’s heavily working-class and Latino population, the City Council Tuesday night opposed Orange County Transportation Authority plans to cut two bus lines in the city.
Orange County Transportation Authority buses have failed to show up on dozens of occasions over the last six months, leaving many riders stranded and angry. The failures can be attributed to bus services that have been outsourced to a private contractor.
In recent years, officials have stayed at five diamond hotels, eaten expensive meals, and taken limo services while students have had to sell hotdogs to save a math class.
The county planned for having more than $60 million in extra discretionary money, and about half of it was provided to two departments: the sheriff and district attorney, amid salary and benefit increases for their staff.
Due to a fragile budget, Santa Ana officials have been using a federal grant to fund city services instead of the nonprofit sector.
Public health experts and local food pantries are working to alleviate a problem in which many residents of low-income neighborhoods do not know when they will eat their next nutritious meal.
The budget relies on reserves and internal funds but does little to address a structural deficit that could deplete reserves within six years.