Yusra Farzan
Local news in Orange County has my heart: All those long meetings — city council, school boards, power authorities, housing commissions, planning departments — play a huge role in our everyday lives. So I take the time to synthesize how decisions in Orange County’s 34 cities affect your electricity bill, how your taxes are funding the next big project and the resources available at your child's school.
Even though I got my break in entertainment reporting, the pieces I am most proud of spotlight everyday people: teachers in Orange County, the duo who started a school for Ukrainian refugees, the women behind Ramadan markets and the teenager who invented a cancer-detecting toothbrush.
Ask me about the small liquor store in Garden Grove that also carries Sri Lankan snacks, the best places to get Arab food in Anaheim and why the drive to Laguna Beach is worth it for those warm, summer days.
I grew up in the Middle East, but I am of Sri Lankan descent. I used to live in Irvine, and I still have one foot in O.C. But now I also call Rancho Palos Verdes home — it’s also why I am so invested in covering the land movement here.
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Residents have six months from the date the damage was incurred to file claims against the county -
Ten people have been charged with misdemeanors.
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240 residents on the Peninsula are now without power.
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Two of the laws will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, and a third a year later. They increase transparency in how government contracts are awarded.
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Service will be shut off indefinitely for 35 homes due to safety concerns in the face of rapidly-accelerating land movement.
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Incumbent Mayor Valerie Amezcua is running for reelection. She is being challenged by councilmember Benjamin Vazquez.
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The measure would amend Santa Ana's city charter to allow noncitizen residents to vote in municipal elections.
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The proposed ethics and transparency reforms are in response to LAist’s investigation of millions of unaccounted for tax dollars directed by O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do to a group his daughter was helping lead.
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The move comes more than nine months after LAist first started reporting on issues with public funding he directed to a nonprofit where his daughter served in leadership roles.
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Newport Beach, San Clemente and Aliso Viejo are just the latest cities to harden their stance on homeless encampments.
