Supervisor defended family after daughter was sued
Nick Gerda
is an accountability reporter who has covered local government in Southern California for more than a decade.
Published August 25, 2024 7:30 AM
O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do at an Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 23, 2024.
(
Nick Gerda
/
LAist
)
Topline:
Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, whose home was searched by FBI and IRS agents last week, directed millions of tax dollars that the county alleges were fraudulently diverted. He has declined to comment to English-language news outlets for months. But he did speak recently on a Vietnamese language radio broadcast, which LAist commissioned a translation of.
What did he say? In an Aug. 15 broadcast, a few hours after the county filed a fraud lawsuit against his daughter, Do spoke for 17 minutes criticizing what he called slander against his “whole family” and defending the nonprofit Viet America Society (VAS), and the group’s founder Peter Pham from allegations they misused millions of dollars meant to feed vulnerable seniors.
The backstory: Viet America Society is at the center of the lawsuit filed by Orange County, which followed months of investigative articles from LAist. Those articles were the first to report Do’s funding of VAS via several contracts he awarded to the nonprofit, including money earmarked for feeding seniors during the pandemic and building a Vietnam War memorial in Fountain Valley. Public records and the nonprofit’s filings with the state, county and federal government show that Supervisor Do’s daughter, Rhiannon Do, was listed in leading roles at Viet America Society on and off during the time her father directed millions to the group.
Were other homes searched? A Tustin home owned by Rhiannon Do was also searched this week by the IRS. Federal agents also searched the homes of other people with ties to VAS who the county has accused of involvement in the alleged fraud.
Keep reading… for full details on what Supervisor Do said during his radio broadcast.
Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, the central figure in an unfolding corruption scandal that saw his home searched by FBI and IRS agents last week, has for months declined to comment to English-language news outlets.
Last week, he spoke out on Vietnamese-language radio, according to a recording of the remarks that LAist had translated. The broadcast took place a few hours after LAist broke the news on Aug. 15 that county officials filed a fraud lawsuit against his daughter, Rhiannon Do, and others involved in a nonprofit she helped lead, according to two people who said they spoke with others who heard the broadcast live.
Supervisor Do directed more than $10 million in public funds to the nonprofit, Viet America Society (VAS), that have gone unaccounted for, despite O.C. officials’ repeated demands for answers about what happened to the money since February.
LAist reached out to Supervisor Do on Friday and Saturday and did not get a response. A county spokesperson declined to comment on the broadcast.
Supervisor Do has declined or not responded to dozens of LAist’s requests for comment since LAist first reported on millions in public funds he’d directed Viet America Society outside of public view.
The Aug. 15 broadcast on VietLink Radio is Supervisor Do’s first — and so far only — known public response to the controversy since the county filed suit alleging that millions of taxpayer dollars were misspent. It is being reported here in English for the first time.
VietLink Radio is owned by Supervisor Do’s former deputy chief of staff Nick Lecong, and broadcasts a few hours per week on 1480 AM from a transmitter in Santa Ana.
Supervisor Do calls recent allegations ‘a slander’
Supervisor Do spoke for 17 minutes on the VietLink Radio segment. He criticized fellow O.C. Republican Janet Nguyen, a state senator currently running for Do's seat, the media and others for what he called slander against his “whole family.” Supervisor Do also defended the Viet America Society, and Peter Pham, the nonprofit group’s founder, from allegations they misused millions of dollars meant to feed vulnerable seniors. He spoke on his own and was not interviewed.
State Sen. Janet Nguyen, a Huntington Beach Republican, votes during session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Aug. 30, 2022.
(
Rahul Lal
/
CalMatters
)
During his broadcast, Supervisor Do pointed to a financial review that he described as showing Viet America Society “is complying with the law,” according to the translation. He appeared to be referring to a financial review released last week by VAS’ new attorney, Mark Rosen.
Allegations that laws were broken are “just a wrongful accusation, a slander,” Supervisor Do added.
The number of people who have received meals from the group “is very high,” he said, adding that 400,000 meals have been served. Supervisor Do said that number was provided by Rosen.
Rosen first emerged publicly as VAS’ lawyer in an Aug. 12 letter to the county. VAS’ previous attorney, Sterling Scott Winchell, told the Orange County Register he no longer represented the group as of Aug. 13.
County officials recently issued findings that Viet America Society's meal numbers were “questionable” and that the nonprofit failed to prove it served the number of meals required in county contracts. It filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court on Aug. 15 — a few hours before Supervisor Do’s radio segment that night — based in large part on those findings. The case has been transferred to San Diego County Superior Court.
In his broadcast, Supervisor Do said that many people were helped by VAS.
“People came to Phước Lộc Thọ to eat every day, to be helped by Peter Pham's Society,” Supervisor Do said about VAS. Phước Lộc Thọ is the Vietnamese name for the Asian Garden Mall, where Pham’s restaurant Perfume River is located.
An LAist review of VAS’ internal financial ledgers provided to the county and obtained by a public records request, found that VAS paid $1.7 million to Perfume River, the majority of money it received from the county to provide meals to needy seniors in 2021 and 2022.
The payments to Perfume River are labeled as “Food Supplies,” with no further information.
In early April, LAist sent questions to the county and to Viet America Society leaders about those large-scale transfers of funds from the nonprofit to the restaurant. Neither entity has provided answers. A county spokesperson told LAist that the county has not received any details or invoices it has requested from VAS about the restaurant payments.
County officials now say it’s unclear what happened to the taxpayer money that was forwarded to the restaurant. They issued findings, cited in their lawsuit against VAS, that the nonprofit has refused to provide the county with an explanation or documentation about what the funds were used for.
In his Aug. 15 broadcast on VietLink Radio, Supervisor Do said he and his family are victims of a smear campaign by the media and Janet Nguyen, the state senator and a former longtime ally turned political foe. Nguyen, a Republican, had mentored Supervisor Do, a fellow Republican. He served as her chief of staff when she was a county supervisor before they had a bitter falling out. She is currently a candidate to replace him as supervisor in the Nov. 5 election. (Do was termed out of office.)
Supervisor Do also said during the broadcast that slander from the media and “factions that follow” Nguyen are why his wife Cheri Pham — the number two judge in Orange County Superior Court — recently decided not to seek the top judgeship.
“They kept insinuating that there is something dark, something that discredits us and our families, not only is related to us but even with my wife. It slanders our whole family and therefore my wife no longer wants to be the…chief justice of Orange County,” Supervisor Do said on the broadcast.
“Our community has lost an opportunity [for] the first time in the history of the United States since the Vietnamese were refugees, a Chief Justice of such ability, prestige and dignity as my wife has to turn down that position because of a completely unacceptable manner of conduct in our community.”
O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do (center left) in December 2023 with his daughter Rhiannon Do (right) and wife Cheri Pham (between them). Pham is the assistant presiding judge of Orange County Superior Court.
(
Screenshot of a public video posted by Do’s official YouTube channel
)
Through a court spokesperson, Cheri Pham declined to comment on her husband’s description of why she decided not to seek the presiding judge position.
She is currently the assistant presiding judge for a two-year period ending in December. Typically, people in that position run for presiding judge for the next term and win the election among the court’s judges, according to an LAist review of court announcements for the last 14 years.
In the Aug. 15 radio broadcast, Supervisor Do also said he believes there are people who want to make sure he doesn’t try for elective office again.
“They want to make sure that they have to defame Andrew Do so that he can’t become a candidate who they must fear in the future,” Do said in his broadcast.
Asked for her response, Nguyen, the state senator, said Do has only himself to blame for his troubles. She also reiterated calls she has made for him to resign.
“This is classic Andrew Do, lying to the Vietnamese community in their own language to create divide. Meanwhile, he has been completely silent to the rest of our community,” Nguyen wrote in a statement.
“The reality is that Andrew is solely responsible for ruining his wife’s, Judge Cheri [Pham’s], career. Andrew is solely responsible for his daughter’s [alleged] fraudulent activities. Most importantly, he single-handedly stripped resources for our most vulnerable communities to benefit himself,” she added.
“It’s time he looks in the mirror and takes accountability for his actions.”
Nguyen is running against Frances Marquez, a city council member in Cypress and Democrat for Orange County’s first supervisorial district.
Marquez called for Supervisor Do to resign in a statement to LAist on Saturday.
“Anyone who violates the principles of ethics and betrays the public trust is not fit for holding office,” she wrote. “He had a duty to be honest and transparent with the residents of District 1 and failed us.”
Earlier this year, Supervisor Do endorsed his then co-chief of staff, Van Tran, for his seat, but Tran placed third in the March primary and did not make it to the runoff.
As a two-term supervisor, Do, himself, cannot run for supervisor again.
About the county’s lawsuit
The county’s lawsuit, which followed months of investigative articles from LAist on Supervisor Do’s funding of VAS, alleges his daughter and other leaders of the nonprofit “brazenly plundered” up to $10.4 million Supervisor Do had given them between early 2021 and fall 2023 to build a Vietnam War memorial and feed seniors and people with disabilities during the pandemic.
The lawsuit claims Rhiannon Do and her associates at the nonprofit refused to show how they spent those millions of dollars in public funds, which the county received from the federal government to help respond to the public’s needs during the coronavirus pandemic.
The county’s lawsuit accuses them of spending part of the money to buy million-dollar properties for themselves — but does not cite proof. Three of the six properties cited in the county’s lawsuit were among those that federal agents searched this week.
Rosen, the lawyer for VAS, has disputed the county’s allegations, saying the lawsuit is riddled with errors, “a disgrace” and a “hatchet job.”
FBI officers and Craig Wilke, who identified as O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do's lawyer, at Supervisor Do's house in Orange County the day it was searched.
(
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
/
LAist
)
On Thursday, a little less than a week after the radio broadcast, Supervisor Do and Cheri Pham’s house was searched by the FBI. Federal officials also searched a house purchased by Rhiannon Do; another purchased by Peter Pham, who is often listed in public records as the chief executive of VAS; other properties owned by people connected to VAS; and the Perfume River restaurant.
Rhiannon Do and Peter Pham deny wrongdoing
Rhiannon Do and Peter Pham have denied doing anything wrong.
In an April email replying to LAist’s inquiries about the county’s payments to VAS, Rhiannon Do said there was nothing improper about how Viet America Society’s funding was used.
Rhiannon Do in a YouTube video posted in August 2021 by the Steinberg Institute where she was an intern.
(
Screenshot via YouTube
)
The “insinuation that there was something untoward with the use of VAS funds is fabricated” and a “false narrative,” she wrote. A lawyer who said he’s representing Rhiannon Do told LAist on Friday that she’s a "very honest, law-abiding, hardworking young woman."
Following the federal search on his house, Peter Pham told the Los Angeles Times that the situation was a "misunderstanding" and that he "didn't do anything wrong."
About VietLink Radio
Nick Lecong, VietLink Radio’s owner, worked for Supervisor Do as his deputy chief of staff from February 2015 to September 2017.
He was then hired as a translation contractor for Do’s county office through his company T&T Consulting, and was paid $72,000 per year for several years through contracts that did not go through a competitive bidding process.
According to county records, VietLink Radio directly received $89,000 in county funds for public service announcements during the pandemic, plus an unknown portion of $150,000 the county paid vendors that have close ties to VAS leaders.
That money made its way to ads on VietLink through private firms associated with VAS leaders Peter Pham, Le Dan Hua, Dinh Mai, and a woman who has lived at the same address as Peter Pham — Thu Thao Thi Vu — according to county invoice records obtained by LAist.
In the second half of 2020, the county paid $75,000 each to Aloha Financial Investment and Hua Development — two companies that have shared leaders with VAS — to fund COVID-19 public service ads on broadcast outlets that included “Vietlink Radio and Vietlink Television,” according to the invoices.
Aloha Financial Investment described itself as an “investments” business in a state filing last year. Hua Development is Peter Pham and Hua’s building contractor business.
The ad payments were in addition to $60,000 the county directly paid VietLink Radio during the same period — also for pandemic public service ads, according to a county contract obtained by LAist. Those ads were supposed to run in newspapers, according to the contract.
County spokesperson Molly Nichelson, who is listed in county records as requesting the Aloha Financial Investment and Hua Development purchase orders, said Friday she was looking into LAist’s questions about the ad payments.
Lecong's ties to earlier investigation of Supervisor Do
Lecong was mentioned in a previous investigation of Supervisor Do by the state Fair Political Practices Commission. That investigation found that Supervisor Do and Lecong used a different nonprofit as a “holding company” to pay for construction of statues of war heroes and former President Ronald Reagan at Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley in 2015 and 2016.
A statue of General Tran Hung Dao in Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley. The statue was cited in an investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
(
Mary Plummer
/
LAist
)
State investigators concluded that he and Lecong controlled that foundation even though they were not its named leaders.
The foundation used donated funds, raised by Supervisor Do, to pay two men who would later become involved with VAS. The two men — VAS founder Peter Pham and Hua, his partner in a general contracting business — were described by the Orange County Register at the time as project managers for the statues’ construction, and were paid $20,800.
Peter Pham went on to found VAS in June 2020, days after Supervisor Do and other county supervisors voted to create the pandemic meals program. Hua — Peter Pham’s business partner — has served as VAS’ president on and off since its founding, according to tax filings and other government documents. Rhiannon Do also has appeared on contracts and other government filings, variously as the group’s president, vice president, executive director, officer and director.
She told LAist, via email in April, that she never served in those roles. Rhiannon Do never responded to follow-up questions about why her name appears in at least nine public titles in top leadership roles at the nonprofit.
Catch up on LAist's investigation
In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist has uncovered over $13 million in public money was approved to a little-known nonprofit that records state was led on and off by Rhiannon Do, the now 23-year-old daughter of Supervisor Do. Most of that money was directed to the group by Supervisor Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties.
Much of the known funding came from federal coronavirus relief money.
Since we started reporting, we’ve also uncovered the group was two years overdue in completing a required audit into whether the meal funds were spent appropriately.
And we found the amount of taxpayer money directed to the nonprofit was much larger than initially known. It totals at least $13.5 million in county funding — tallied from government records obtained and published by LAist.
After our reporting, O.C. officials wrote demand letters to the nonprofit saying millions in funding were unaccounted for. They warned it could be forced to repay the funds.
And, we found the nonprofit missed a deadline set by county officials to provide proof about how funding for meals were spent.
On Aug. 2, LAist reported O.C. officials were demanding the refund of more than $3 million in public funds awarded by Do to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand.
Six days later, LAist reported Orange County officials had expanded demands for refunds of millions in tax dollars from the nonprofits and threatened legal action.
Then, on Aug. 19, LAist reported O.C. officials had announced a second lawsuit against Hand to Hand and its CEO to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Supervisor Do.
LAist broke the news on Aug. 22 that federal agents were searching Rhiannon Do's home in Tustin. Later that day, Supervisor Do's home, and other properties, were also raided.
How to watchdog local government
One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention.
Your city council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published July 2, 2026 5:00 PM
Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto at a September 2024 news conference.
(
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
Topline:
Long-term eviction defense funding for Los Angeles renters could soon begin to flow now that city officials have announced a break in an impasse dating back to May 2025.
The latest: L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said Thursday she intends to sign a new $107 million contract with the Legal Aid Foundation of L.A. She said the contract — which was approved by the City Council and the mayor in April, but still awaits her approval — was “nearly finalized.”
What’s next: Feldstein Soto — who will not secure a second term after placing third in last month’s primary election — pledged to continue investigating the legal aid group. She has frequently criticized the nonprofit for what she sees as a lack of transparency, though L.A. Housing Department officials say the group has consistently provided accounting and caseload data to the city.
The response: Barbara Schultz, a Legal Aid Foundation attorney overseeing the city-funded Stay Housed L.A. program, said both parties have been negotiating final contract details for more than a week. She said the city attorney’s announcement was encouraging.
Long-term eviction defense funding for Los Angeles renters could soon begin to flow now that city officials have announced a break in an impasse dating back to May 2025.
L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said Thursday she intends to sign a new $107 million contract with the Legal Aid Foundation of L.A. She said the contract — which was approved by the City Council and the mayor in April, but still awaits her approval — was “nearly finalized.”
“I am fully committed to supporting these crucial eviction defense services for our vulnerable neighbors in need,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement.
Feldstein Soto — who will not secure a second term after placing third in last month’s primary election — pledged to continue investigating the legal aid group. She has frequently criticized the nonprofit for what she sees as a lack of transparency, though L.A. Housing Department officials say the group has consistently provided accounting and caseload data to the city.
“Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability and to know that their money is being used as intended,” Feldstein Soto said.
Barbara Schultz, a Legal Aid Foundation attorney overseeing the city-funded Stay Housed L.A. program, said both parties have been negotiating final contract details for more than a week. She said the city attorney’s announcement was encouraging.
“[Feldstein Soto] said she was going to approve the contract, so I'm very excited to hear that,” Schultz said. “Moving forward… we can continue to grow, fully implement the ‘Right to Counsel,’ and tenants in Los Angeles will be much better off as a result.”
In response to Feldstein Soto’s claims that more than $58 million in eviction defense grants remain “unaccounted for” in the foundation’s financial audits and IRS forms, Schultz said taxpayer dollars have not been misspent and that no findings have been made to that effect.
“[The Legal Aid Foundation] is a very large nonprofit law firm that has over 40 federal, state and local government contracts,” Schultz said. “We are very used to being audited. Any audit the city wants to do to satisfy itself is absolutely fine with us.”
Feldstein Soto denied a five-year contract to the legal aid group last year, arguing it should have gone through a competitive bidding process. After the city solicited applications and selected the group for new long-term funding, she later told city councilmembers in a confidential memo that they should consider withholding support for “a frequent litigant against the city.”
While she announced the contract should be ready for her signature by July 7, Feldstein Soto said her office would move forward with plans to assign forensic accountants to study how the legal aid group has spent more than $90 million in city funds since 2021.
Kevin Tidmarsh
is a producer for LAist, covering news and culture. He’s been an audio/web journalist for about a decade.
Published July 2, 2026 4:46 PM
Gita O’Neill, interim CEO of LAHSA, speaks ahead of the annual homeless count on Jan. 20, 2026.
(
Jordan Rynning
/
LAist
)
Topline:
A federal judge on Thursday indicated he wants to preserve federal funding for the embattled Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority as the agency sues the federal government for pulling access to these funds.
How we got here: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced last month it was freezing funding to LAHSA, citing mismanagement on the agency’s part. LAHSA then vowed to fight the funding freeze in court, filing its lawsuit Monday.
The timeline: U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ordered LAHSA and HUD to submit a proposed agreement by July 16 that would maintain status quo funding of LAHSA’s services. He also set an Aug. 6 hearing, during which Carter will decide whether to issue a court order that would block the federal funding freeze. Carter also indicated he would endeavor to issue a final ruling by Aug. 26, which is currently the deadline for LAHSA to apply for new grants.
What’s at stake: LAHSA CEO Gita O’Neill estimated the suspension put as much as $150 million in grants in limbo that the federal government has already awarded but hasn’t finalized. HUD also said the suspension barred LAHSA from submitting an application on behalf of the entire region for the next round of federal grants, totaling up to $241 million, according to LAHSA’s estimates.
LAHSA’s response: “We look forward to our day in court on Aug. 6, when we will have the opportunity to argue for a definitive ruling,” O’Neill said in a statement Thursday. The same statement also incorrectly described Carter’s court order as a preliminary injunction against HUD’s actions. Carter will decide whether to issue the preliminary injunction at the Aug. 6 hearing. A LAHSA spokesperson later corrected the statement after an inquiry from LAist.
Aaron Schrank and Nick Gerda contributed reporting.
Keep up with LAist.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
is an arts and general assignment reporter on LAist's Explore LA team.
Published July 2, 2026 4:23 PM
Belgica Cruz, left, helps her daughter Catherine Hernandez try on a replica Mexico soccer team jersey she bought in a Santa Ana indoor mall.
(
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
/
LAist
)
Topline:
For many, wearing Mexico’s soccer team jersey represents the country’s World Cup aspirations. For some fans in the U.S., it’s about affirming their cultural roots in a time of struggle.
Why it matters: Support for Mexico’s national soccer team has increased among people with Mexican heritage abroad as the team has won in the latest round. People are attaching different meanings to wearing the team’s national symbols.
Why now: New fans are on the hunt for jerseys and are finding a shortage.
What's next: Mexico’s men’s soccer team hopes to advance to the next round of World Cup play on Sunday when it plays England at Mexico City Stadium.
At the Bristol Swap Mall in Santa Ana, people are flocking to buy their Mexico soccer team jerseys and paraphernalia.
“The color is green and that says Mexico right here,” said Catherine Hernandez, who’s entering third grade, as she pointed to the replica Mexico soccer jersey her mother had bought her at a nearby stall.
She asked her mother to get her one the day after Mexico’s win against Ecuador and is already thinking about how she’ll feel wearing it Sunday during Mexico’s knockout game against England in the Round of 16.
“Excited, very excited because I’m Mexican and I love this shirt,” she said.
Hernandez was born in the U.S. and her mother was born in Mexico. Both say their Mexico jerseys symbolize those similar but different prides in their Mexican backgrounds.
They're among fans rooting for Mexico’s men’s national soccer team to advance further than ever before into the World Cup tournament. A win against England would move the team to the Round of 8, the quarterfinals, for the third time. Along the way, this Mexico team has captured the imagination of many in the U.S. who have, or are close to, those of Mexican heritage.
Proudly wearing the green jersey
The market vendor at the stall said only one adult-size 2026 jersey remained. So many had been sold they'd had to place an order for more.
A replica of Mexico's 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer jersey.
(
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
/
LAist
)
Many Mexico fans have been wearing their jerseys on the days leading up to the team's World Cup matches.
“On Monday, I looked around to see a sea of green, white and red, and it nearly brought me to tears in line at Costco,” said Alex Alcantar, who lives in Norwalk.
On Monday, I looked around to see a sea of green, white and red, and it nearly brought me to tears in line at Costco.
— Alex Alcantar, Mexico soccer fan who lives in Norwalk
He was born and raised in the U.S. and he says his Mexico soccer jersey symbolizes that experience.
“Why I wear my Mexico jersey is because I want to visibly represent this community when our contributions to society are so heavily discounted,” he said.
The team’s growing prominence has also coaxed some others in Mexican communities in the U.S. to feel more confident in their identity.
“I've never used [a Mexico jersey] before,” said Xochi Flores, who was born in Oxnard and whose great-grandparents were Mexican.
“I didn't feel like I could go around representing Mexico when I'm a Chicana, third generation, not the best Spanish speaker,” she said.
Xochi Flores (left), with her husband Cesar Castro, has become more comfortable wearing the soccer jersey recently.
(
Courtesy Xochi Flores
)
In the past year, she said she’s felt closer to her Mexican roots as she’s seen reports of farmworkers and other people of Mexican descent arrested by ICE agents.
I didn't feel like I could go around representing Mexico when I'm a Chicana, third generation, not the best Spanish speaker.
— Xochi Flores, on why she didn't wear a Mexico jersey before
So to her, wearing her Mexico soccer jersey means leaving behind insecurities she used to have about not being “Mexican enough,” as well as “not being American enough.”
“I want my kids to see me embracing all of the parts of me. … They don't have those insecurities, and that makes me happy,” Flores said.
Wearing the jersey when you're Mexican-ish
The stalls are attracting all types of customers. “I'm just looking for a Mexican soccer jersey,” said Son Lam, who lives in nearby Orange and identifies as Vietnamese.
Lam says he’s become devoted to soccer since the World Cup started June 11. Buying and wearing a Mexican soccer team jersey means showing off his newfound sports fandom already embraced by his extended family
“My wife is Mexican and to me, [wearing the Mexico jersey] means I can fit in with the family more," he said as he laughed.
However they identify, all these shoppers will likely be wearing their jerseys as they watch Mexico compete against England on Sunday, July 5. Joining millions of fans rooting for their team to advance to the next round, and keeping dreams of a 2026 FIFA World Cup championship alive.
Jill Replogle
covers public corruption, debates over our voting system, culture war battles — and more.
Published July 2, 2026 4:02 PM
Santa Ana welcome sign
(
albertc111/Getty Images
/
iStockphoto
)
Topline:
Santa Ana voters could be asked in November to maintain the city’s 1.5% sales tax, which was set to decrease in 2029 and eventually expire.
The backstory: Voters approved the citywide sales tax in 2018 on the condition that it sunset in 20 years. Now, the Santa Ana City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to ask voters in November to make the tax permanent.
Read on ... to find out what other OC cities are considering similar tax hikes.
Santa Ana voters could be asked in November to maintain the city’s 1.5% sales tax, which was set to decrease in 2029 and eventually expire.
Voters approved the citywide sales tax in 2018 on the condition that it sunset in 20 years. Now, the Santa Ana City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to ask voters in November to make the tax permanent.
The big picture
Only about one-third of cities in Orange County have a local sales tax on top of the county-imposed sales tax of 7.75%. Sales taxes in most of Los Angeles County are much higher — L.A.’s countywide sales tax is 9.75% and the highest total sales taxes for cities in L.A. County are in Lancaster and Palmdale, at 11.25% each, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
Other potential tax hikes in OC
Voters in Orange will be considering a sales tax hike on their November ballot, after failing to get voters’ approval in 2024. San Clemente voters will also consider a local sales tax in November to pay for more sand to shore up local beaches.
