Category: Santa Ana

Orange County’s Neediest Cities Will Receive More than $100 Million in Federal Funds 

Santa Ana and Anaheim—two of Orange County’s most underprivileged cities—will each receive more than $100 million in federal funding to revive their depressed economies. The money is part of a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill signed into law by the federal government last week. About $143 million will be allocated to Santa Ana in what Mayor Vicente…


Santa Ana Allows Non-Citizens to Serve on Public Boards and Commissions 

Santa Ana has become the first Orange County city to allow non-U.S. citizens without legal immigration status to serve on its commissions and boards. City council voted unanimously March 15 to amend the language of an ordinance that allows non-registered voters to run for board and commission seats. The term “qualified elector of the city” was changed to “resident of…


Los Angeles Has Two of the Worst Traffic Corridors in Nation: Study

LOS ANGELES—Even with a reduction in driving caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Los Angeles had two of the worst traffic corridors in the nation last year and is ranked as the fifth most congested city in the United States, according to an annual study released March 9. Drivers on the Hollywood (101) Freeway to the…


Orange County: California’s New Cannabis Hot Spot

Orange County is one of the hottest, mostly untapped markets in the United States for retail cannabis sales, according to industry professionals—but not all of its citizens are pleased by the prospect. This summer, Santa Ana will become home to Planet 13, a retail cannabis superstore with over 16,000 square feet of dispensary space—the largest…


Man Found Fatally Wounded in Driveway of Home in Santa Ana

Police found a man fatally wounded in a driveway to a home in Santa Ana, authorities said March 6. Officers were dispatched at 11:26 p.m. Friday to the 1400 block of West Elder Drive in response to reports of a shooting victim and found the man suffering from gunshot wounds to the upper body, the…


Non-Citizens Could Soon Serve on Santa Ana’s Public Committees 

Santa Ana will likely become the first city in Orange County to allow non-U.S. citizens without legal immigration status to serve on its commissions, boards, or committees. During a March 2 city council meeting, council voted unanimously to remove a restriction that required a person appointed to one of the city’s boards, commissions, or committees to be an eligible voter. The…


State’s New COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Strategy Targets Disadvantaged Californians

California will now allocate 40 percent of all new COVID-19 vaccine doses for residents living in its most disadvantaged communities. The effort, announced by state officials March 3, seeks accelerate the reopening of the economy by slowing the spread of the virus in areas where it tends to propagate fastest. In Southern California, many of the communities that…


Hero Pay for Grocery Workers, Pharmacy Workers Takes Effect in Santa Ana

Grocery workers and retail pharmacy workers in Santa Ana, Calif., will begin receiving an hourly pay boost after city council passed an urgency ordinance to implement “hero pay”. The measure, which passed with a 5-2 vote during a March 2 council meeting, takes effect immediately. Eligible workers will receive an extra $4 per hour. Under…


Gang Task Force Operation Conducted in Orange County

SANTA ANA—The Orange County Violent Gang Task Force was serving a number of federal and state warrants March 3 as part of an investigation targeting an Orange County-based street gang, according to the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “The Orange County Violent Gang Task Force and its partners are executing twelve federal search warrants this…


Costa Mesa Becomes Latest City to Explore Pay Raise for Grocery Workers

Costa Mesa is considering boosting the hourly wages of grocery workers during the pandemic, joining a shopping list of other Orange County cities exploring the initiative. Its city council will discuss an urgency ordinance March 2 to pay certain grocery workers an extra $4 per hour in “hazard pay.” “Grocery workers generally receive lower wages…