Category: City Council

Homelessness, COVID-19, and Rising Cost of Employees Hurt L.A. Finances

Commentary Los Angeles city controller Ron Galperin has released his office’s annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for fiscal year 2020 and provided an update on how things in the current fiscal year. As expected, it’s bad. During fiscal year 2020, the general fund shrank 9.8 percent from $1.1 billion in July 2019 to just $992…


Huntington Beach Councilor Tito Ortiz Could Lose Mayoral Status

Huntington Beach city council will discuss stripping Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz of his title during a Feb. 1 meeting. Mayor Kim Carr and councilmembers Dan Kalmyk and Michael Posey authored an agenda item to bring forward a vote of no confidence on Ortiz, and remove him from his leadership role. In an email to The Epoch Times Jan. 28, Carr said the…


Garden Grove to Determine Effects of COVID-19 on Homelessness

The Garden Grove city council is expected to approve a proclamation during its Jan. 26 city council meeting that will seek to determine the short- and long-term effects of COVID-19 on the city’s homeless population. “As uncertainty of the economy, unemployment, and housing instability compounded with the public health emergency due to the COVID pandemic persists, it is important to…


Santa Ana Set to Award Contracts for South Main Street Corridor Project

Santa Ana’s vision of a safer and more dynamic South Main Street could move forward Jan. 19 as council prepares to vote on about $13 million worth of infrastructure improvements for the thoroughfare. The investment is being proposed as part of the city’s South Main Street Corridor project, which encompasses about four blocks of South…


Why Public Drinking May Be—Moderately—Encouraged in San Clemente

Enjoying a glass of wine with a meal is typically a luxury restricted to restaurants and private homes, but given the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, San Clemente is looking to make it easier to indulge elsewhere. Its city council will decide during a Jan. 19 meeting whether to extend permission to its residents to consume alcohol in…


Rancho Santa Margarita Firms Up Splash Pad Plans

Rancho Santa Margarita city council is expected to approve a long-awaited splash pad for the city’s Central Park splash pad later this month. It was set to give the project the green-light during its Jan. 13 council meeting, but feel just short of approving its construction cost after questions arose about whether all proposed design…


Fullerton Councilmember Charged With Battery and Vandalism

A Fullerton, California councilmember is facing vandalism and battery charges. A recently-discovered Orange County Superior Court document alleges Ahmad Zahra used force against a woman and destroyed a cell phone, as well as other property. The alleged incident happened around Sept. 20, when Zahra was arrested for assault; he was later charged with battery. Court records…