September 28, 2021 Media Brief
Orange County
Voice of OC: Flush with federal COVID cash, OC plans major spending on 2nd mental health campus
County officials haven’t said much publicly about the operations center and second Be Well mental health campus – both of which are slated to be built on county land at the Great Park in Irvine.
Voice of OC: Mission Viejo moves ahead with Stein Mart purchase locking in millions in bond debt
The discussions have all taken place behind closed doors — which is legal under public meeting laws so long as it’s only talks of price and terms of payment — but it’s also opened a lot of questions from the public and other business owners in the shopping center about what’s actually going on.
Voice of OC: DA says Laguna Beach City Council violated Brown Act
The Laguna Beach City Council has violated the Brown Act in regards to a closed session meeting earlier this year, according to a letter from the Orange County District Attorney’s office.
OC Register: Heat returning to Southern California beginning Thursday
By Thursday, temperatures in some areas of Southern California will be back up to 90 degrees or hotter thanks to a transition from onshore flow to mild Santa Ana winds, meteorologists said on Tuesday, Sept. 28.
OC Register: Coronavirus: Hospitalizations in Orange County continue to decline, with 235 new cases reported Tuesday
Hospitalizations in Orange County fell below 300 on Tuesday. There were 288 people with confirmed cases of the coronavirus reported in the county’s hospitals, 72 of whom needed to be in an intensive care unit.
OC Register: Westminster grapples with homelessness, considers opening a shelter
Westminster, where the main drag includes the slogan “All-America City,” is the heart of Orange County’s Little Saigon district, which was founded by refugees from Vietnam. Now, Westminster is working on how to help a different kind of refugee — homegrown homeless people.
Daily Pilot: As anti-Asian hate crimes surge, a new tool lets you report them anonymously
Responding to increases in hate crimes and harassment of Asians and Asian Americans, a national advocacy group has launched an online tool to allow people to report incidents of violence or harassment in 29 languages.
Labor
Labor 411: U.S. Women’s Soccer goes union to increase low minimum salaries
Through its #NoMoreSideHustles campaign, the NWSLPA is seeking significant increases in the minimum player salary, which is currently $22,000 per year, and often requires players to have second jobs.
California
OC Register: LAPD proposes $18.5 million plan to impose reforms after bungled 2020 protest response
Nearly half of those funds — about $9.3 million — would be spent on retraining thousands of officers in how to use less-lethal projectile weapons, and how to set up field jails that can accommodate dozens or hundreds of detainees at a time.
Publication Date: September 28, 2021
