2008

The accountant who predicted the nation’s largest municipal bankruptcy says as many as 10 insolvencies will roil the $2.7 trillion U.S. market for state, county and city debt next year as public finances worsen amid calls for federal aid to state and local governments.

Our governor has signed budgets with annual expenditure increases greater than those of his predecessor. So it is disingenuous for him to be critical of the Legislature now. For more than four years he has been guilty of pushing problems out into the future. Gov. Schwarzenegger, please do not lecture us now about requiring a balanced budget, requesting spending caps or being horrified at the lack of a "rainy day" fund. You're a classic finger-pointer, with most fingers pointing back in your direction.

It seems that every time the stock market suffers a major setback, those who don't fully understand how government pensions work begin sounding alarm bells that it will absolutely drive up the cost of government pensions. A close examination of history and the facts suggests it's way too early to make such assumptions.

Look out – another massive taxpayer-funded bailout is coming down the pike.

Despite a warning from the county grand jury, the Orange County Board of Supervisors declined Tuesday to impose a letter grading system designed to inform would-be diners about the health safety record of restaurants.

The 28th Annual Los Alamitos Race on the Base will be held on Saturday, February 21, 2009.

When it's cold and you're homeless and you have nowhere else to turn, wouldn't you knock on every last door?

A long-awaited jail audit report landed with a thud Tuesday at the County Board of Supervisors as two private consultants called for hiring nearly 500 more deputies as well as spending more on aging jail facilities.

Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Moorlach thinks Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is doing a bang-up job in her new post, despite a battle that erupted earlier this week between 2nd Amendment advocates and the sheriff.

About 75 percent of voters there last week passed a measure that makes county employee and elected official retirement contracts contingent on approval at the ballot box.

Voters have overwhelmingly endorsed limiting the power of county supervisors to sweeten pension payouts for public employees supporting Measure J by a whopping 75 percent.

Orange County restaurants would have to post color-coded inspection seals on their windows to give customers more information about the cleanliness of their kitchens under a plan being put forward by health officials.

Overtime pay in the Orange County Sheriff's Department has skyrocketed in recent years because the department lacks a comprehensive policy or effective controls on the extra pay, according to an audit released Wednesday.

ROSSMOOR - The Rossmoor Homeowners Association issued a statement this week in support of making the unincorporated tract on Long Beach's eastern flank Orange County's newest city.

One option stands above the rest of the possible solutions to deal with the often unbearable traffic on the 55 Freeway and Newport Boulevard, according to a new study by the Orange County Transportation Authority.

On the night that John Derek Chamberlain was stomped to death at Theo Lacy jail in 2006, Sheriff's deputies waved off District Attorney investigators that showed up to look into the murder.

Orange County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to place a measure on the November ballot letting voters decide if future pension increases for county government workers should be put to a public vote.

SANTA ANA – Orange County supervisors diluted their own power Tuesday by approving an initiative that would require voters to OK any increases in public workers' pensions.

Six years ago the voters of Orange County approved Measure V, converting us to a charter county. It was poorly constructed, but we now have the opportunity to allow the voters to add provisions to the Charter that instruct the County's Supervisors on how to proceed on financial and business matters.

Concerned about the skyrocketing cost of Orange County employee retirement benefits, Supervisor John M.W. Moorlach on Tuesday proposed requiring voter approval for any future increases to employee pensions.

SANTA ANA – Sheriff Sandra Hutchens was publicly sworn in as Orange County's first female top officer today in a large public ceremony held under sunny skies with calls for an end of "dark days."

Over the past decade, Orange County officials transformed the post of sheriff's deputy into a six-figure job based on the belief that overtime was cheaper than hiring new officers.

After a long, miserable haul with former Sheriff Mike Carona, our neighbors in Orange County have a promising new leader in Sandra Hutchens. What a refreshing change.

October 30, 2007 - A federal grand jury indictment is unsealed naming Carona, his wife, Debbie, and his "longtime mistress," Debra V. Hoffman, as part of a conspiracy to get Carona elected sheriff to enrich himself and others.

SANTA ANA – Sandra Hutchens, named Orange County’s first female sheriff on Tuesday, described herself as a "change agent" who promised to clean up a department rattled by scandals.

Nine law enforcement veterans competing to become Orange County's next sheriff appeared before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday in an unprecedented public interview session to determine which one should replace the top cop who left office under indictment.

Irvine, Calif. – The Irvine Ranch Conservancy (IRC), along with the Capistrano Valley Conservancy (CVC), will host the 2nd Annual Paint-Off on March 29. The unique event will be held at The Irvine Ranch Historical Park, site of the original Irvine Ranch Headquarters, at 13042 Old Myford Road in Irvine. The park site includes the Ranch’s headquarters building, the James Irvine II Home, which houses the brand-new Katie Wheeler Branch Library, and numerous barns and other residential buildings.

Orange County faces state budget cuts, dwindling tax revenue and rising crime rates, Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Moorlach said in his State of the County address Tuesday.

After months of legal preparation, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to file a lawsuit seeking to repeal part of their pension agreement with sheriff's deputies, saying the county cannot afford the expense.

Bill Yee doesn't have far to go to cross county lines.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors recently voted 4-1 to increase traffic ticket fees to fund medical care for the uninsured. Supervisor John Moorlach, who calls the moving violation hike “nefarious,” cast the only dissenting vote.