July 6, 2021 Media Brief
Orange County
Voice of OC: Experts warn OC is walking unprepared into next public health crisis
In central and north Orange County, the concern is that residents living in highly-developed and built-out cities like Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Anaheim are already in the midst of a brewing climate crisis, one where resulting climbing temperatures and increasingly intolerable heat make their homes uninhabitable.
Voice of OC: Veterans, county leaders rally around Veterans Cemetery in Gypsum Canyon, legislative battle looms
The new site opens up a host of questions for county, state and federal officials, including what happens to a pot of almost $25 million in state budget funds – currently slated for a veterans cemetery in Irvine but now under pressure to be changed to just Orange County, which would make the Gypsum Canyon site eligible.
OC Register: Cities get money to address traffic, parking, air-quality issues
Hoping to cut into the region’s chronic traffic congestion and related air pollution, eight local governments from four counties will divvy up $2.5 million to develop fresh approaches to address issues of parking, curbside commerce, trucking, and mobility for seniors and disabled people.
OC Register: Anaheim Hills 1993 landslide area kept dry by pump system, but money to run it is dwindling
District officials already tried asking roughly 300 affected property owners to agree to a $923-per-year assessment; a majority of those who cast votes said no. Some board members, including Chairman Craig Schill, fear what could happen if the pumps ever have to be turned off.
OC Register: Passenger traffic at JWA soars in May; Amtrak restores Surfliner routes
The airport last week reported its May traffic count, which showed 585,735 passengers passed through its gates vs. 82,341 in May 2020. To give you an idea of a “normal” traffic count, JWA counted 942,872 passengers in May 2019.
Daily Pilot: O.C. health officials boast 70% vaccination among adults, but total herd immunity still elusive
Health officials announced last week Orange County had reached “a huge milestone” in its fight against the coronavirus, as 70% of residents 18 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of June 27.
Labor
Labor 411: Labor union presses for “urgent” worker protections a triple digit heat hits northwest
“Farmworker union organizers are urging Washington state cherry growers and the governor to protect workers who are critical to the ongoing effort to save the crop from record heat.
California
OC Register: The end of California’s groundwater free-for-all
As the state faces a growing threat from drought, an increasing number of water agencies are planning to require flow meters on agricultural wells, part of a landmark effort to measure and constrain pumping that used to be free and unlimited.
Publication Date: July 6, 2021
