December 21, 2021 Media Brief
Orange County
Voice of OC: Why do OC firefighters and deputies have some of the lowest COVID vaccination rates
Richard Carpiano, a public health scientist at UC Riverside who previously worked as an emergency medical technician, said it’s tragic to see so many first responders decline to get vaccinated. “They’re crucial for the community so their health and safety needs to be paramount,” Carpiano said of firefighters and police.
OC Register: Redistricting: Orange County’s new Congressional districts shuffle incumbents
Orange County will lose one voice in Washington, D.C. when the new maps take effect next year. The district now represented by Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, will move north, shrinking the number of House seats that touch Orange County from seven to six.
OC Register: Southern California coast hit with both good and bad news in 2021
Approval of an offshore windmill bill will buoy clean energy efforts, Banning Ranch activists made a deal to buy and preserve the largest private undeveloped parcel on the Southern California coast, and lawmakers in Sacramento passed legislation to reduce plastic waste and to adapt to sea-level rise.
OC Register: Orange County needs volunteers for January homeless count
After canceling the homeless count in January 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Orange County officials are gearing up to take a census next month of how many people are unsheltered in the county.
OC Register: Pacifica Christian’s Lauryn Ham makes return after alleged ‘sucker punch’ incident
She was allegedly “sucker punched” in the head during a club game at The Map Sports Facility in Garden Grove and suffered a concussion, along with emotional and academic distress, said Tustin-based attorney Kevin Hahn.
Labor
OC Register: CSU reaches new contract with faculty union, raising salaries across all 23 campuses
The agreement between the CSU and the California Faculty Association will cover 29,000 faculty across all 23 campuses and, if approved by the CSU Board of Trustees and CFA members, will run until June 30, 2024, a CSU statement said.
Nation
OC Register: COVID: Omicron variant rockets to dominance across U.S.
It was unclear how fast omicron has spread in California — the California Department of Public Health had not updated its variant tracking data and had no immediate comment Monday. But the rapid spread across the rest of the country alarmed infectious disease experts.
OC Register: Across services, troops face discipline for refusing vaccine
Military leaders have warned for months that troops would face consequences if they did not follow what is considered to be a lawful order to get the COVID-19 vaccine. But only in the last week or so have they publicly begun following through on those threats.
Publication Date: December 21, 2021
