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.
-
USC cited safety concerns in canceling her speech, but Los Angeles police confirmed to LAist that a crime report has not been filed. -
The new proposal will allow the theme park to create immersive experiences within its current footprint.
-
State Attorney General Rob Bonta calls the amendment “illegal.”
-
Ippei Mizuhara is accused of stealing more than $16 million from the Dodgers star and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
-
The Dodgers fired Mizuhara in March after Ohtani's lawyers accused him of stealing millions of dollars from the baseball player to place bets with an Orange County-based bookie.
-
Jackie’s partner, Shadow, refuses to abandon their unviable eggs, despite her attempts to nudge him along.
-
A series of strong storms had damaged the beach's dirt access road.
-
In 1983, just 22 California condors were known to exist.
-
Hint: Many cultures believe solar eclipse is a bad omen.
-
The shifting ground in the Portuguese Bend landslide complex is unprecedented.
