While Voice of OC celebrated its decade anniversary in 2019, our biggest story of the year came from our readers, who became donors in record numbers.
Tag: Norberto Santana Jr.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Norberto Santana, Jr., Top Stories
Santana: High Ranking Aide to DA Todd Spitzer Disappears from Agency and State Assembly Campaign After Filing Explosive Claim Against County
Melanie Eustice, a top ranking executive who worked for OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer filed a legal claim with the county earlier this year obtained by Voice of OC alleging that Spitzer was an abusive boss and repeatedly engaged in a pattern of illegal behavior, highlighting instances of improperly releasing information from county bids and public records. Spitzer disputed her characterizations in email correspondence also obtained by Voice of OC.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Santana: Brea’s Secretive Water Agency Draws Court Challenge
This Tuesday, Brea city officials will go behind closed doors to talk about their secretive water agency, Cal Domestic, and plans to keep city representatives on the Cal Domestic board of directors from filing any kind of financial disclosure about conflicts of interest. Such disclosures would have allowed city officials to question a former city manager that was being paid by the water agency while also advising the city to spend millions on controversial water rights purchases – a move that last year drew sanction from the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission.
Posted inCountywide, Norberto Santana, Jr.
Santana: Can DA Todd Spitzer and Sheriff Don Barnes Survive The Evidence Booking Scandal?
A disturbing OC Sheriff’s Department Audit of late evidence bookings finds that 30 percent of evidence booked by deputies over the last two years didn’t comply with policy. While photos and videos are the majority of late bookings, there’s also cash, drugs and guns among the items booked into evidence late, sometimes by as much as a month. The audit, kept secret until recently, raises a host of issues for Sheriff Don Barnes and District Attorney Todd Spitzer and could affect thousands of criminal cases across Orange County.
Posted inCountywide, Norberto Santana, Jr., Top Stories
Santana: Orange County’s Key Organizing Group Gets Disorganized
With key debates over the future of Anaheim’s stadium and public lands in Santa Ana intensifying, Orange County’s premier progressive organizing group, OC Communities Organized for Responsible Development, OCCORD, is reeling from the resignations of Executive Director Shakeel Syed and a slew of organizers in recent months.
Posted inCountywide, Norberto Santana, Jr., Top Stories
Santana: Chapman Student Newspaper Triggers Sparks
With congressional campaigns across Orange County intensifying for 2020, Chapman University Dean of Communications, Lisa Sparks – who is running as a Republican in the 45th Congressional District against incumbent Democrat Katie Porter – triggers a slew of questions about accessibility by avoiding interviews with her campus newspaper.
Posted inNorberto Santana, Jr.
Santana: Commie Hunting in Westminster
City Council members in Westminster adopt an ominous resolution encouraging all residents of Westminster to raise their voices against individuals who fit the profile of an “aider and abettor” of the communist government in Vietnam.
Posted inNorberto Santana, Jr.
Santana: Death of OC Auditor Controller Underscores Why Public Access to Elected Officials’ Calendars Matters
After having his department largely defunded last year because of an active watchdog approach, it now seems that deceased Orange County Auditor Controller Eric Woolery was transitioning his life to Kansas. Orange County taxpayers had a right to know that Woolery was super-commuting to his local office from out of state and might be transitioning to a new life. Access to an official public calendar would have allowed for that kind of accountability, something that County of Orange officials keep fighting.
Posted inNorberto Santana, Jr.
Santana: Angels-Anaheim Negotiations Enter Final Stretch
Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in October start closed-door negotiations on a new stadium development plan. The Angels enter the negotiations up against a Dec. 31 deadline that forces them to either opt out of their lease or stay under current terms until 2029. Is it the beginning of the end for Angels in Anaheim? Or the end of the beginning for a new lease terms between the city and the team?
Posted inCountywide, Norberto Santana, Jr.
Santana: Fishing Comes Back to Irvine Lake
A defunct but popular Orange County fishing spot comes back to life on Saturday, Aug. 17 after Supervisor Don Wagner – who is up for re-election next year, successfully leads negotiations with two neighboring water districts to re-open Irvine Lake, which has been shut down since 2016.