Orange County’s Service to Veterans- The Board received a presentation from OC Community Services Director Karen Roper on the County’s investment in serving our Veterans through housing, medical, disability and educational benefits. For a copy of the presentation, please click here.

Traffic Committee Report, Live Oak Canyon Road- The Board approved the Orange County Traffic Committee report from the August meeting regarding the current operating performance of Live Oak Canyon Road in Trabuco Canyon. The committee recommended additional operational controls along the roadway including an animal warning sign, a metal beam guard rail at the southbound Monastery curve with a curve warning, speed advisory, paddle markers, and a recommendation that OC Public Works conduct research towards future legislation of a Safety Enhancement Double Fine Zone along the roadway. To view the report, please click here.

Court Transfer Agreements- As part of the Trial Court Facilities Act, the Board approved two agreements that transfer responsibility of various court facilities to the State of California and relieves the County of its obligation to maintain and operate Court infrastructure. Approval of these agreements will result in the transfer of the North Justice Center Trial Court Facility in Fullerton, and the West Justice Center Trial Court Facility in Westminster to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

CAPS+ Upgrade Quarterly Report- The Board received a quarterly update from Orange County Auditor-Controller David Sundstrom on the status of the County’s upgrade of the Countywide Accounting & Personnel System (CAPS) Financial System and Human Resources/Payroll upgrades (CAPS+). The CAPS/CAPS+ is a critical system for the County and the upgrades will provide better management by the Auditor-Controller of all accounting transactions and payroll disbursements. To view the Auditor-Controller’s presentation, please click here.

Social Services Agency Plan to Rehire- The Board approved an increased allocation of $9 million in Federal and State funding for the Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) to address the increased demand for Medi-Cal, Food Stamp and CalWORKs programs. This additional allocation for FY 09-10 will enable the SSA to re-hire 99 previously laid-off County employees, and to implement an electronic data center to assist in managing future caseloads. For a copy of the presentation, please click here.

Senior Citizen Advisory Council- The Board approved by my recommendation that Dr. Nancy Cheng to serve as a Third District voting representative on the Senior Citizen Advisory Council. Dr. Cheng is a resident of Irvine.

Bus Service Reduction Update- On Monday, the OCTA Board of Directors approved a service reduction plan that eliminates 150,000 annual revenue vehicle hours in March as an alternative to the 300,000 hour reduction proposed. The change is primarily based on an assumption that State transit funding will be restored as a result of the California Transit Association’s successful lawsuit against the State over the diversion of funds. As part of this proposal, the Board also approved a plan to cut at least an additional 150,000 hours as early as March 2010, or when the State enacts its 2010-11 Budget, if State funding is not restored or another source is not identified. To view the presentation given to the Board, click here. The specific service reduction strategies and route reductions will be considered by the OCTA Board of Directors on November 23.

91 Express Lane Traffic and Revenue Data- During the month of October, traffic on the 91 Express Lanes increased 2.75% compared to October 2008. The revenues also increased in October by 1.51% compared to October 2008.

Cell Tower Installation Update on the SR-241- The F/ETCA Board of Directors received an update on the construction of four new cell towers along the SR-241 between the SR-91 and the SR-133. Over the past month, construction on the four permanent cell towers has been completed and cell phone carriers have begun installing their antennas. At the Windy Ridge cell tower, AT&T and T Mobile have completed their antenna installation, and Sprint and Verizon are expected to complete the installation of their equipment by next week. At the Irvine Lake site, AT&T, Sprint, and T Mobile will complete installation of their equipment by the end of December. At the Loma Ridge cell site, Verizon and AT&T will install their antennas next week, and Sprint and T Mobile will complete their installation by mid-December. Finally, at the most southerly site, Verizon and AT&T will complete their installation by early December and Sprint and T Mobile will complete the installation of their equipment by the end of December. Also, Metro PCS is expected to add their company’s equipment to each of the sites in 2010. To view the presentation given to the Board, click here.

FasTrak Licensing Agreements- This week, the Boards of both the SJHTCA and F/ETCA agreed to issue four new FasTrak licenses to the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA), the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), and the Sunol Carpool Lane Joint Powers Authority (Sunol JPA). Each of these entities will use FasTrak for the purpose of processing electronic tolls. BATA will use FasTrak to administer electronic toll collection for all of the toll bridges in the Bay Area. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority will use FasTrak to administer electronic toll collection along the Silicon Valley Express Lanes Project. LA Metro will use FasTrak to administer electronic toll collection along the express lanes planned for the I-10 and I-110. The Sunol JPA will use FasTrak to administer electronic toll collection for the I-680 Express Lanes. If you are a FasTrak subscriber you can use your transponder on other FasTrak tollroads in California. To view the presentation given to the Boards, click here.

Traffic and Revenue Update- The Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (F/ETCA) reported toll revenues of $8,613,616 and transactions of 4,883,994 for the month of October. Revenues were up 5.6% while transactions were down 5.3% compared to the October 2008 figures. The San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency (SJHTCA) reported toll revenues of $7,382,138, a 0.7% increase from October 2008. The Agency reported 2,147,584 transactions on the SJHTCA for the month of October. This is an 8.4% decrease compared to October 2008.

Amendment to SCAQMD Rule 1111- Last week the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) approved an amendment to Rule 1111. This amendment will decrease the nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from residential heating furnaces through the use of low NOx burner technology and improvements to heat exchange components in residential furnaces. The amendment will establish a new NOx limit of 14 nano-grams per Joule (ng/J) for new furnaces, which reflects a 65% reduction from the current limit of 40 ng/J. Also, SCAQMD will fund up to $1,000,000 for four projects that will develop prototypes of 14 ng/J furnaces and offer incentives to furnace manufactures who come into early compliance with the amendment. The rule’s new requirements will be phased in over a six-year period beginning in 2012. To view the staff presentation on the rule amendment, please click here.

I attended the First Friday Friars lunch honoring active duty military and veterans. The keynote speaker was Commander Kevin Sweeney, USN. Commander Sweeney is the Catholic Chaplain for Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and a native of Orange County. An Honor Guard was provided by the Youth Guidance Center Junior ROTC. For pictures, please click here. Fr. Sweeney talked about his life as a chaplain and spoke about three chaplains who lost their lives while serving in the United States military. They were Fr. Aloysius Schmitt, Fr. Emil Kapaun, and Fr.Vincent Robert Capodanno. To learn more about their stories, please click on each of their names.

I visited with former member of the California Board of Equalization, Claude Parrish.

I traveled to Camp Pendleton on Tuesday, November 10, which was the 234th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps, with Supervisor Bates and Lake Forest Mayor Pro Tem Peter Herzog to meet with General Anthony L. Jackson, Colonel Nicholas F. Marano, and other Camp Pendleton staff members. For a picture, click here.

OCTA Director Greg Winterbottom and I met with Villa Park Mayor Pro Tem Bill MacAloney, Villa Park Councilmember Deborah Pauly, Villa Park City Manager Lori Sasoon, residents of the city, and members of the OCTA staff to discuss the classification of Villa Park Road. To view pictures, click here.

I attended the City of Irvine’s Veterans Day Ceremony, long with the Irvine City Council to pay tribute to our nation's troops. Brigadier General Robert Tate, UASF (Ret.) and Lieutenant Colonel Scott Lacy, USMC were the keynote speakers. Both speakers talked about severing with our allies. City of Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang spoke about his service in the South Korean military prior to immigrating to the United States. To view pictures from the event, click here. To view the ceremony program, please click here.

I attended the City of Orange Veterans Day Tribute, along with Representative Ed Royce and the Orange City Council. The keynote speaker was Colonel Abel Barrientes, USAF. Colonel Barrientes is the Vice Commander of the Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, based at March Air Force Base in Riverside. For pictures, please click here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

AlertOC Emergency System Test in the Canyons- A test emergency call to Canyon residences and businesses has been scheduled for November 17 between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. This exercise is in collaboration with canyon debris flow preparation efforts. To view an e-mail sent to canyon residents from Vicki Osborn of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, please click here.

Tustin Library Dedication Ceremony- On Saturday, November 14, at 10 am, the City of Tustin is hosting a dedication ceremony for the new Tustin Library. OC Public Libraries staff will be providing tours from 10:30 am to noon. For more information, please click here.

Training Exercise at Yorba Linda High School- On Sunday, November 15, officers from the Brea Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) and other officers from the North County SWAT Team and Orange County Fire Authority will be conducting a training exercise at Yorba Linda High School. The exercise will include the use of blank-firing weapons to simulate the sounds of gun fire as well as noise-flash diversionary devices. There will also be approximately 60-80 high school students involved in the training exercise, so sounds of screaming may be heard. Precautions have been put in place to ensure the safety of all involved as well as nearby residents. The police department will be posting signs in the immediate area to notify the public of the training exercise. For more information, click here.

Adventures in Writing Contest- OC Public Libraries is hosting its annual short story writing contest for children ages 8 to 12. The contest is running from November 2, 2009 to January 29, 2010. Winners will be notified in March. For more information, please click here.

It is a pleasure to serve the constituents of the Third District.

Please pray for our armed forces and our foreign services personnel.