Thursday, February 6th marks the 109th birthday of President Ronald Reagan. While he left us in 2004, President Reagan has left a lasting positive impact on our nation reminding people across the world that our great nation is truly that "shining city on a hill". Thank you President Reagan for all you have done for America and happy birthday!

February is the month that we pay our respects to the black community in America and all they have contributed to our great nation. From Booker T. Washington to Harriet Tubman  Martin Luther King, Jr. to Justice Clarence Thomas, the United States has been blessed with amazing individuals from the black community whose accomplishments have enriched our nation.

On Tuesday, January 28, 2020, my colleagues and I on the  Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Zoning Code Amendment CA 20-01, proposed by Third District Supervisor Don Wagner, to impose further restrictions on sober living homes and State-licensed and/or certified alcoholism and drug abuse treatment facilities seeking to do business in County unincorporated areas.

This new ordinance will increase protections for Orange County residents and their neighborhoods, as well as for residents of sober living homes, group homes, and treatment facilities. I hope that this ordinance will serve as a model for Orange County cities and other local jurisdictions.

Click here for the full Press Release: 

https://d2.ocgov.com/pr-zoning-code

On Tuesday, January 28, 2020, my colleagues and I on the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved of a resolution that would ease the tax refund process for Orange County property owners.

With our approval the Auditor-Controller will be able to refund up to $5,000 to taxpayers who overpaid their property tax, as long as the property didn’t change hands within the past year, without them having to go through the hassle of filing claims for those refunds.

Orange County has for some time interpreted California tax law to say that the County can refund property tax to residents, in certain cases, without them having to file a claim. However, the State Legislature passed SB 1246 in 2018, which required counties to adopt a resolution authorizing the Auditor-Controller to refund property taxes without a claim for refund.

If the County owes taxpayers a refund, we should give that money back as quickly and easily as possible. This resolution will allow us to do just that.

Click here for the full Press Release: 

https://d2.ocgov.com/pr-zoning-code

The Orange County Board of Supervisors will consider an agenda item at next week’s Board of Supervisors meeting to approve 12 recliners for College Hospital’s Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU). These recliners will be in addition to the already existing 15 recliners at a CSU in Santa Ana. These allow for individuals who are a danger to themselves, a danger to others or gravely disabled due to a mental health disorder to be placed in the CSU while awaiting treatment at the College Hospital in Costa Mesa.

Making sure that our hospitals are provided with the best tools to care for patients that are suffering from mental health disorders while awaiting treatment is of the utmost importance for Orange County health facilities. This new Crisis Stabilization Unit gives our healthcare professionals what they need to provide that care. It will also be a big help for caring for our homeless population who are all too often suffering from mental health disorders.

College Hospital’s CSU is a locked facility that relies upon designation in order to accept individuals on involuntary holds. Crisis Stabilization Units act as emergency rooms for mental health emergencies. These facilities have psychiatric professionals on hand, an appropriate environment with beds and reclining chairs for treatment, and appropriate privacy.

Click here for the full Press Release: 

https://d2.ocgov.com/pr-OC-Add-Second-Crisis-Stabilization-Unit

Happy Lunar New Year of the Rat!

It was a pleasure to help celebrate the Lunar New Yearon January 23rd at the world-renowned South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. Hundreds came to Jewel Court to participate in the festivities and enjoy the great entertainment.

I offered salutations and and well-wishes for a prosperous and healthy Year of the Rat. Afterwards, I joined with other invited guests of South Coast Plaza for an exclusive dinner with delicious food from AnQi. What a great job General Manager David Grant, Brian Chuan, and their staff did!

I had the pleasure of celebrating the Lunar New Year yesterday with the Vietnamese Community in Little Saigon (Westminster). We started the day with the annual Tet Parade down Bolsa Avenue. I was happy to be a co-sponsor of this year’s parade. I joined with many community groups and others In kicking off the ‘Year of the Rat,’ and had a great time greeting the onlookers along the route while handing out candy bars to the children.

After the conclusion of the 2020 Tet Parade, the thousands of onlookers made their way to the Asian Garden Mall for the follow up Firecracker Ceremony where tens of thousands of firecrackers are set off to ring in the New Year.

I offered New Year greetings to the crowd and then participated in the lighting of the firecrackers. 

The final event of the Lunar New Year celebrations I attended was the annual Tet Festival at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley. My colleague, Vice Chairman Andrew Do, hosts this great annual weekend event. Thousands of celebrants come from all over to observe the ceremonies and enjoy the food, fun, and entertainment.

Congratulations on the Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the new Thompson Autism Center at CHOC Children’s in Orange.

Thanks to a collaborative effort between CHOC Children’s and the William and Nancy Thompson Family Foundation (Thompson Family Foundation), the region’s capacity to serve children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families has been greatly expanded.

The Thompson Autism Center at CHOC Children’s, named in honor of a $10 million founding gift, will be devoted to evaluating children as early as possible to promote better outcomes; engaging children whose behaviors diminish quality of life for them and their families; and establishing a long-term support system for children with complex care needs.

Congratulations to Kelly Miller and his entire staff at Visit Huntington Beach. On January 29th, they celebrated their 30th Anniversary as the exclusive marketing arm of Surf City USA, as well as the Grand Opening of their new office just steps away from the beach and Pier. The new office is beautifully decorated and gives you a visual history of the city.

It was my pleasure to personally recognize the milestone and the numerous accomplishments Kelly and his team have achieved for Huntington Beach. I wish them many more years of continued success and am so proud to have them in my District.

On the morning of January 30th, I joined with over 350 personnel from the County and around the region, in the January 2020 County Emergency Operations Center Exercise.

The scenario for this year’s drill was a magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurring at 7:00 a.m. just outside Orange County in the Chino Hills area. After the strong shaking throughout Orange County stopped. Existing emergency response measures were implemented immediately.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this very important exercise. As you can see by the photos, a lot of preparation and hard work goes into rapid emergency response to local disasters.

It was an honor to be a guest speaker at the South Coast Metro Alliance’s 37th Annual Lunch Meeting which took place at the Center Club in the Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. South Coast Metro is one of the most dynamic and energetic business communities in the nation and I’m proud to have it in my district.

I publicly thanked Executive Director, Diane Pritchett for her many years of dedicated service. She is the one that makes everything happen on a daily basis for the Alliance and is a joy to work with.

A Countywide update from The Orange County Healthcare Agency pertaining the Executive Order on Coronavirus:

As many of you are already aware, there is an outbreak of pneumonia in China, which has been identified to be caused by a novel (new) coronavirus. There are ongoing investigations by many countries to learn more about the outbreak, and the situation is rapidly evolving. On Friday, January 31, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared the novel coronavirus a public health emergency in the United States. The declaration goes into effect at 2 p.m. PST on Sunday, February, 2, 2020.

As part of the emergency declaration, persons returning to the United States through select airports and considered to be at highest risk will be quarantined and monitored by public health officials. Locally, it’s important to note that John Wayne Airport is not among this predetermined list of airports. All other returning travelers from China will face a health screening and face up to two weeks of monitored self-quarantine to ensure they pose no health risk. At this time, Orange County, CA continues to have only one confirmed case of novel coronavirus (a man in his 50s who is isolated and in good condition) and there is no evidence of person to person transmission occurring here. The risk to the public in Orange County, CA and throughout the United States remains low.

The OC Health Care Agency (HCA) is working with federal, state, and local partners including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and health care providers to prepare and appropriately care for people who may be at risk for illness associated with novel coronavirus or who have tested positive for novel coronavirus. The HCA expects that local health departments like ours will receive updated, written guidance from the CDC in regard to the self-quarantine, monitoring and testing components of the HHS declaration that may impact our residents with recent travel from China. This is a rapidly changing situation, and we will share more as we are updated from our colleagues at the state and/or federal level.

For more information, please visit: http://www.ochealthinfo.com/phs/about/epidasmt/epi/dip/prevention/novel_coronavirus

To prevent future pedestrian-automobile accidents, the Hall of Administration has put together a handy guide for your safety:

We rarely are more vulnerable than when walking in urban areas, crossing busy streets and negotiating traffic. At some point in the day, everyone is a pedestrian, and unfortunately pedestrian fatalities remain high.  Pedestrian safety is a priority and we encourage you to be cautious when walking on the street around Civic Center. In 2018, there was a total of 6,283 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in the United States.

Follow these tips to stay safe as a pedestrian:

• Whenever possible, walk on the sidewalk: if no sidewalk is available, walk facing traffic
• Follow the rules of the road, obeying all traffic signs and signals
• Cross streets at crosswalks
• If a crosswalk or intersection is not available, locate a well-lit area where you have the best view of traffic. Wait for a gap in traffic that allows enough time to cross safely; continue watching for traffic as you cross
• Stay alert – avoid cell phone use and wearing earbuds
• Watch for cars entering or exiting driveways or backing up in parking lots

An announcement from John Wayne Airport on Its December 2019 Statistics:

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in December 2019 as compared with December 2018. In December 2019, the Airport served 891,492 passengers, an increase of 7.7% when compared with the December 2018 passenger traffic count of 828,070. 

Commercial aircraft operations decreased 0.5% and commuter aircraft operations increased 33.0% when compared with December 2018 levels.

Total aircraft operations decreased in December 2019 as compared with the same month in 2018. In December 2019, there were 20,718 total aircraft operations (take-offs and landings), a 15.7% decrease compared to 24,579 total aircraft operations in December 2018.

General aviation activity, which accounted for 61.4% of the total aircraft operations during December 2019, decreased 23.5% when compared with December 2018.

The top three airlines in December 2019 based on passenger count were Southwest Airlines (274,794), American Airlines (153,370) and United Airlines (141,068).

The Irvine Headquarters of Working Wardrobes, a local non-profit charitable organization that many of our county employees donate clothes to for the less fortunate, burned down in a fire on the morning of Sunday, February 2nd. No one was hurt or in the building at the time, but all contents in the building were completely lost. Approximately 100 firefighters were at the scene, but it was several hours before firefighters could access the building.

The fire at Working Wardrobes is a devastating loss to the county. We have partnered with this wonderful organization for many years to help the needy in Orange County. While we are relieved that no one was harmed in this incident, this fire has taken away a valuable resource to our county.

The Goodwill has provided a temporary home for Working Wardrobes at their Santa Ana location while they look to rebuild. Working Wardrobes is asking for donations to help rebuild their headquarters. One can make donations here: https://workingwardrobes.org/donate-money/