The Brief

We've all heard that saying: Where California goes, so goes the nation. But when it comes to getting hitched, the state lags behind many others. Specifically, 5.7 marriages per 1,000 people, according to the latest 2022 figures from the CDC.

But fear not, because Hugh Nguyen is on the case — and has been for more than a decade as the clerk-recorder of Orange County.

" Basically I safeguard and protect everyone's records in Orange County," Nguyen said.

That includes processing passports, swearing in notaries, filing alternate names for businesses. His office also marks life's big moments.  

"We issue birth certificate, death certificate, marriage certificate," Nguyen said. "I'm the commissioner of marriage."

Indeed, it is in the domain of matrimony where Nguyen's many ideas find their — pardon the pun — perfect match.

Hugh Nguyen (foreground) with a couple at Hitched at Honda Center during COVID-19 pandemic.

(

Courtesy of Orange County Clerk Recorder Department.

)

Making it official

Nguyen was born in Vietnam to a teenage mom and an American soldier (whom he first met about a decade ago). After a harrowing escape from Saigon, Nguyen and his family landed in the U.S. He was 7.

Eventually, they moved to Orange County, which has been Nguyen's home since. The 57-year-old has been a county government employee since the early 1990s, rising up the ranks until he was tapped in 2013 to finish the term of an outgoing clerk-recorder. A year later, he was officially elected to the post.

" I'm honored and proud to be the first Vietnamese American clerk-recorder in the country being elected to that position," Nguyen said.

In conversation, Nguyen is garrulous, with a tendency to slip your name in the middle of a sentence for emphasis. The clerk-recorder also has a ready inventory of all the ideas that he's implemented.

New ways to say, 'I do'

One of his first big projects, Nguyen said, was to launch an O.C. wedding app so people can book an appointment, pick a location and apply for a marriage license on their phones. It was, he said, a first in the state.

 "Then I thought ... sometimes if we get married, our family lives in Texas, in San Diego, in Vietnam, in Japan, wherever," Nguyen said.

So he launched a free Zoom broadcast for virtual attendees.

" If you are getting married, Fiona, your family from anywhere close or far can watch your wedding privately,  live, when we perform it," he said.

Nguyen remembered a Filipino couple at their South County office who invited guests from the Philippines on the Zoom.

" We can see all the icons of family members dressed in red to support the bride, and the couple was so happy," he said.

About a month ago, his office launched vow renewals. One couple that participated has been married for half a century.

 "You can share it with your kids and grandkids, your love for each other by renewing your vows," Nguyen said.

The list of innovations go on and on, including Nguyen himself performing a ceremony for a couple who renewed their vows after 25 years of marriage — right in the middle of the annual Tet Parade last weekend celebrating Lunar New Year. The wedding part was a first.

Pandemic weddings

But nothing could beat what he pulled off during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020.

 "My attorneys in the county kept saying, 'Hugh, it's people's constitutional right to get married,'" Nguyen said. "I kept reminding her, everybody is sick, and we're closed. The whole country is closed."

But the sentiment stuck with him, especially after seeing the long line of people waiting to get married the day before his office was shut down. As Nguyen was driving home, it dawned on him that what he needed were ticket booths — like at a movie theater.

A couple got married at Hitched at Honda Center during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(

Courtesy of Orange County Clerk Recorder Department.

)

"Because I thought safety for my staff, you know, there's that glass. And then the couples can stand outside, right?" he said.

He made some calls and landed a handful of booths — with interior heat and A/C to boot — from a friend at the O.C. Fair.

" So then I thought, ‘OK, where am I going to drop these babies?’ Right?" Nguyen recalled.

He was driving to his Anaheim office, when he spotted the Honda Center.

"Big parking lot,  Fiona, everything's closed. There's no hockey," he said.  "So I reached out."

Thus began Hitched at Honda Center — where couples drove to the parking lot, walked up to one of the booths and said “I do.”

Over nine months, the department issued nearly 17,000 marriage licenses and performed more than 8,200 marriage ceremonies, a 25% increase from the previous year.

Next frontier: mobile clerk-recorder

O.C. clerk-recorder Hugh Nguyen's new idea: a mobile clerk-recorder van.

(

Jill Replogle

/

LAist

)

In March, Nguyen plans to debut his latest endeavor: a van to enable his office to meet his constituents. " So we can serve the public anywhere," he said.

At a recent county Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Doug Chaffee, who represents Brea and Buena Park, lauded the "clerk-recorder on wheels" initiative.

"I have to recognize our county clerk because of the innovative stuff he's doing,” Chaffee said. “As a new mobile van where it will go all over the county, you can get a birth certificate, you can apply for passports, all sorts of things you can do with that."

There's one place Nguyen is already thinking of hitting: the bridal show at the county fairgrounds, which thousands of people attend.

 "When I go to a bridal show, my van is there. We could actually issue the marriage license live, right!" Nguyen said.

Before then, Nguyen and his office need to get through Valentine's Day. This year, that special day falls on a Friday, which he said tends to be the busiest.

So Nguyen is extending office hours until 6 p.m. He said some 300 couples have already made appointments, and more are expected.

"We're gonna break some records this year," he said. "I guarantee you."

How to get married in the O.C. this Valentine's Day

Love birds, it's never too late to book an appointment to get married or to renew your vows at one of Hugh Nguyen's county courthouses in Orange County. Hours will be extended until 6 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Anaheim, Laguna Hills and Old County Courthouse in Santa Ana for marriage services.

Walk-ins will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.

Before arriving, couples must complete a marriage license application online at https://ocweddings.ocrecorder.com

Here's a checklist:

• Online Application: Required for marriage licenses prior to arrival
• Identification: Both parties must present valid government-issued photo ID
• Witness: At least one witness is required for a public marriage license ceremony
• Payments: Accepted forms include cash, credit/debit card, check, cashier’s check, or money order (payable to the Orange County Clerk-Recorder)

Marriage Services and Fees:

• Public Marriage License: $61
• Confidential Marriage License: $66
• Civil Marriage Ceremony: $28
• Renewal of Vow Ceremony: $28

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

(

J.W. Hendricks

/

The LA Local

)

In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.