March 22, 2021 Media Brief
Orange County
Voice of OC: OC Board of Education, superintendent spend $3 Million in legal battle to pick their own lawyers
While the books are closed on the board’s legal representation, the superintendent and the board are still arguing in court over who has the final say on the annual budget for the county education department.
Voice of OC: A year after going home, some OC schools are still debating whether or not to come back
Depending on where you live, the schoolyard is a different reality: while many students have been back on campus for months, communities that were hit hardest by the virus are still debating a return to in-person learning.
Voice of OC: Cities across Orange County look to revise housing regulations and review housing goals
“Housing costs have skyrocketed in the county during the past decade, and significant media coverage shed light on large homeless encampments along the Santa Ana Riverbed and at the Civic Center in the late 2010s,” reads the survey report.
OC Register: Orange County reported 113 new cases and 45 new deaths as of March 21
There were 45 new deaths added to the records on Sunday, raising the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the county to 4,607.
OC Register: Coronavirus pandemic exposes stark differences in Orange County
While the pandemic might be temporarily altering the county’s lifestyle, it is exposing the growing, stark contrasts that define the real Orange County, wealth and poverty; conservative and liberal; White and non-White.
OC Register: OC hospital workers fear possible changes to care in a vulnerable community
Workers at two Orange County hospitals are relieved their emergency rooms won’t be closing as they feared. But they’re still concerned other mentioned possible changes at Anaheim Global and Chapman Global medical centers could leave the low-income communities they serve with less access to health care.
Daily Pilot: Laguna Beach to consider offering hybrid format for City Council meetings
In the week ahead, the Laguna Beach City Council will once again consider how to proceed with its meetings going forward, with the option on the table to return to an in-person format.
Labor
Saddleback College Lariat: Proposition 22 might be the first of many dominoes to fall against gig workers
“How much does it cost to convince voters an employee is a ‘contractor’ and that providing basic worker protections is an attack on the freedom of Californians to get a cheap ride?” said Gaston Castellanos, a communications representative at OCEA. “The price tag is $200 million spent by gig companies like Uber, Lyft, and others on the pro-Prop 22 campaign.”
Labor 411: Ford Intends To send Ohio jobs to Mexico, according To UAW
Ford and other automakers often choose to build certain vehicles at their factories in Mexico when global demand is expected to be a factor. Export tariffs may be lower because of recent trade wars.
Publication Date: March 22, 2021
