There was no regular Board meeting this week. The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 26, at 9:30 am.

State of Emergency Declaration- On Thursday, Acting Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. proclaimed a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Francisco and Siskiyou counties due to a series of winter storms that have brought high winds and significant amounts of precipitation statewide, and have caused the loss of human life, injuries, flooding, heavy snows and mudslides throughout the state. To read the press release, please click here.

Emergency Operations Center- The County of Orange activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC). When activated, the EOC is available to answer questions from residents related to storm conditions. The Public Information Hotline number is (714) 628-7085. I visited the EOC to observe its operations and to thank the County employees who had been working around the clock. For pictures, click here. The EOC was deactivated on Thursday at 7 pm. To sign up to receive emergency alerts from the County’s emergency notification system, please click here. To view additional information regarding emergency preparedness, please click here.

Public Works Response- OC Public Works personnel continue to prepare for storm conditions while performing clean-up operations. To date, the Canyons and the burn areas of the 2007 Santiago Fire and 2008 Freeway Complex Fire have avoided significant damage. Last Friday, staff cleared 2,500 cubic yards of dredge material from the Santiago Creek, under Modjeska Canyon’s “Boxcar Bridge”. The Boxcar Bridge connects Modjeska Canyon Road to the Modjeska Canyon Nature Reserve. For pictures, click here.

Fire Response- The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) and the County have made sandbags available to residents, to view a list of locations, please click here. OCFA has three swift water rescue teams available and team members assigned to an OCFA helicopter. For more safety information from OCFA, please click here.

John Wayne Airport- The Airport continues to be open and operational during the heavy storm conditions. However, some delays may be experienced. For the most current status of a flight, click here for a list of airlines.

OC Animal Care- While the EOC has reported that no animals have been evacuated as a result of storms, OC Animal Care recommends pet owners make emergency preparations for their pets for up to 3 days, and keep all vaccination and veterinary information accessible. For emergency preparedness information, please click here.

OC Parks- Many OC Parks trails remain closed due to wet and muddy conditions. Please keep in mind that trails may close for several days after rain until fully dried out. Premature use of muddy trails can damage them and put your safety at risk. Please call your park of choice for the latest conditions before you go. For OC Park listings and information, please click here.

OC Public Libraries- OC Public Libraries have experienced no major damage and will continue to serve the public with business as usual. For local branch information, please click here.

This week I traveled to Washington, D.C. and met with staff from the Majority and Minority House and Senate Committees to discuss permitting issues related to the maintenance of Orange County flood control channels. For pictures, click here.

I met with OC Waste and Recycling Director Mike Giancola and several members of the waste hauling community to discuss the use of lightweight plastic trash bins for commercial locations. We discussed the use of plastic bins versus the standard welded steel bins, and how the plastic bin has performed in daily service for the haulers.

I attended the January meeting of Orange Rotary and presented a proclamation honoring the Rotary’s 88 years of service to the Orange community. OC news channel 2 reporter David Lopez was the speaker. He recounted his more than 30 years of news reporting. For pictures, 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.