December 24, 2019

Happy Holidays!

Orange County

Voice of OC: 2019 – The year of nastiness on the city council dais

A number of Orange County cities this year saw heightened levels of political disarray and verbal nastiness among their city councils, and at times the anger boiled over to the public they’re supposed to represent.

 

Voice of OC: O.C. universities grapple with white supremacy incidents

Propaganda stickers of a white supremacist group surfaced several times on Chapman’s campus this semester, while a flyer promoting a Cal State Fullerton fraternity event that contained a racist slur circulated on social media.

 

OC Register: Southern Californians getting almost 9 million robocalls a day

If there’s a recorded voice on the other end of the line — probably trying to sell you something or scam you into giving up money or personal information — then you have just received one of the 7 million to 9 million robocalls that Southern Californians are estimated to be bombarded with each day.

 

OC Register: Cold, wet and snowy Christmas storm coming to Southern California

Southern California will catch a break Tuesday from the weather, but a cold, strong storm with the potential to drop up to 3 inches of rain in some parts region and up to 2 feet of snow in the local mountains is forecast to slam the region on Christmas night.

 

Labor

LA Times: Hotel Bel-Air unfairly refused to rehire workers, judge rules

After a two-year shutdown to remodel the swanky Hotel Bel-Air, hotel administrators came up with bogus reasons not to rehire many of its former union workers in a scheme to avoid recognizing the labor group that represented the employees.

 

California

OC Register: California rents are way up this decade, but eviction filings are way down

Rents in San Mateo County have increased nearly 55% since the start of the decade. A two-bedroom in Redwood City, the county seat, now goes for $3,500, according to data from Apartment List. Strong demand, fueled by the influx of high-income tech workers, means vacancy rates are low.

 

OC Register: A vestige of segregation could go before California voters next year

Advocates say repealing the Article 34, which requires a local ballot measure to develop public housing, would make it easier for cities and counties to provide housing for the poor.

 

Publication Date: December 24, 2019