October 12, 2021 Media Brief
Orange County
Voice of OC: State, feds kick off slew of investigations into OC oil spill
Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced a state Department of Justice probe into the oil spill, traveling to Orange County for a briefing on the situation by the Unified Response Command, which includes the state Department of Fish and Game, the Coast Guard and the pipeline operator, Amplify Energy.
Voice of OC: Before oil spill, some OC cities questioned for ignoring their expert coastal panels
Such city panels — usually appointed by their elected city councils and varying by name — can give crucial advice to elected leaders on problems such as ocean water bacteria, stormwater runoff into the shore, beach sand loss, erosion, and sea level rise affecting their share of the coastline.
Voice of OC: Anaheim is largest OC city without an affordable housing policy
Some Anaheim residents worry their council members are not doing enough to address the need for affordable housing without an inclusionary housing ordinance on the books — in a city that some would say needs one the most.
OC Register: Port of Long Beach chief says cargo will continue to grow as solutions are sought
A July 2015 Federal Maritime Commission report, for example, said “congestion at ports and other points in the nation’s intermodal system has become a serious risk factor to the relatively robust growth of the American economy and to its competitive position.”
Labor
OC Register: Kaiser workers vote to authorize strike at Southern California hospitals, clinics
Nearly 21,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and other healthcare workers who say they’re understaffed and facing a new pay system at Kaiser’s Southern California hospitals and clinics have voted to authorize a strike against the healthcare giant.
OC Register: 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs at a record pace in August
The jump in quits strongly suggests that fear of the delta variant is partly responsible for the shortfall in workers. In addition to driving quits, fear of the disease likely caused plenty of those out of work to not look for, or take, jobs.
California
KTLA: Newsom signs bill to protect reporters covering protests
The measure says that reporters can be behind police lines in the area of demonstrations, marches or rallies without being cited or arrested. It bars police from “intentionally assaulting, interfering with, or obstructing” their news gathering.
Daily Pilot: Bill banning gun shows at O.C. fairgrounds signed into law by Gov. Newsom
Senate Bill 264 was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom before a Sunday deadline. Starting Jan. 1, the Costa Mesa site may no longer host Crossroads of the West gun shows.
Publication Date: October 12, 2021
