April 29, 2016

A museum and a cemetery. Both would honor the service and sacrifices of so many men and women who have given their lives in defense of our democracy. Both would be located on hallowed ground, land that is part of Orange County’s rich military history. Both would offer a space where families and children can remember those who have fallen and reflect on the price of the freedom we all enjoy.

April 15, 2016

This week, the Register detailed an important improvement for animals and the public: the construction of a state-of-the-art county animal shelter in Tustin that will provide a much-needed upgrade to the decades-old facility in Orange.

April 1, 2016

This was a historic week for working people – one that reinforces why I am so proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with fast-food workers, nurses, teachers and firefighters in the labor movement demanding a better life for all Californians.

March 26, 2016

The reason there is so much disruption to the establishment during this presidential election is because no matter how hard they work and how carefully they plan, too many working Americans just can’t get ahead.

March 6, 2016

The crowd grew very quickly at Anaheim’s Pearson Park on Monday. By 6 p.m., more than 400 peaceful demonstrators holding signs that read “Unity” and “Stop Hate” were gathered at the park near Harbor Boulevard and Cypress Street. Just two days earlier, the location was the scene of a violent and bloody clash between a handful of Ku Klux Klan members and a group of anti-Klan – mainly young – protestors.

February 21, 2016

Orange County plans to spend $150 million renovating the downtown Santa Ana Civic Center, where thousands of people work and attend court and public meetings – and where far too many live on the streets.

February 7, 2016

This winter, there has been a flurry of media coverage of the homeless in Orange County, particularly the homeless population in the Santa Ana Civic Center area. We have heard about the county’s plans for a homeless shelter in Anaheim near the 91, its more nebulous plans for a homeless shelter in South County and its on-again, off-again plans to convert the empty Transportation Center in downtown Santa Ana into at least a temporary shelter.

January 22, 2016

Former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio and former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed announced this week that they have, once again, failed in their effort to launch ballot initiatives aimed at destroying public employee retirement systems. This follows on the heels of their failed attempt last summer to qualify a similar ballot measure.

January 8, 2016

This newspaper and media outlets across Southern California have been focusing coverage on El Niño – the impact of the recent storms on our homeless population, on drought conditions and on communities at risk of flooding.

January 1, 2016

The Orange County Employees Association is comprised of about 18,000 workers, many Orange County residents, who work every day to keep our communities safe and healthy.

December 18, 2015

The holiday season brings out the best in our community – a time when so many people look for ways to not only give to their loved ones, but also to those who are less fortunate than themselves.

December 11, 2015

Last week’s tragedy in San Bernardino has hit close to home in ways most of us could not have comprehended in the days and hours preceding the terrible, unjustifiable events that unfolded in a matter of minutes on Dec. 2.

December 4, 2015

For generations, California’s public school system has served as a great equalizer in our society, educating the children of our state and preparing them for college or a trade. Once the battle to desegregate our schools in Orange County was won in 1948 by the Mendez v. Westminster decision, California’s public schools went on to become the envy of the nation. The idea that education was a primary duty of government under the supervision of locally elected school boards was firmly established.