July 12, 2017 |
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Volume 5 Issue 16 |
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Fourth of July County Celebrations! |
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Supervisor Todd Spitzer recites the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag on the Fourth of July. |
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Beaches, parks, malls, restaurants, and more were crowded last Tuesday as Orange County put up its feet to celebrate Independence Day.
Fireworks at the Orange 3rd of July Celebration. |
Supervisor Todd Spitzer attended several events across the county to commemorate America’s birthday. On Monday July 3rd, he stopped by Orange for the Annual Third of July city celebration and fireworks show, where he spoke with pride about the freedoms we have in our great nation and how we all must work to protect those freedoms.
On the Fourth of July, he visited Tustin with his family to thank veterans, police officers, firefighters, and members of the military for their service and commitment to protecting our great nation. After, Supervisor Spitzer and the crowd were treated to a spectacular fireworks show. |
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Board of Supervisors Approves 2017-2018 Budget, Final Debt Payment, and Expands Homeless Outreach and ‘Whole Person Care’ Program |
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Supervisor Todd Spitzer and his fellow Board of Supervisors approved the County Budget for the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year at the June 27th Board of Supervisors Meeting. Supervisor Spitzer opposed the Esperanza Hills Project due to his concerns about safety issues the project could create. He also voted no on approving expenditures paid by taxes collected through the California gas tax.
This balanced, $6.2 billion budget also includes the final payment on the County’s debt from the 1994 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy occurred after limited oversight of the elected Treasurer-Tax Collector allowed him to make risky investments and purchases on behalf of the County, resulting in a $1.6 billion loss. Supervisor Todd Spitzer was elected in 1996 in the first election after the bankruptcy and promised to his constituents that he would use the authority of his office to do all he could to bring the County back to a position of financial stability. Now, 23 years since his first election, Supervisor Spitzer is proud to be a member of the Board of Supervisors again to deliver the final debt repayment and free the County from the impacts of this devastating bankruptcy.
The County Budget also included funding to expand the services provided through the Whole Person Care (WPC) initiative. Through the Supervisors’ approval of the budget, the WPC pilot program intended to improve health and well-being for Medi-Cal beneficiaries struggling to keep dependable housing will take the next step to combating homelessness.
“Round 2” of the Whole Person Care initiative will fund additional recuperative care beds, add homeless outreach and navigation staff, and unite current shelter-providers under the WPC umbrella.
“Increasing recuperative care beds and adding another entry point into the Whole Person Care Pilot system is exactly what’s needed,” said Supervisor Spitzer. “Working with the homeless population in a holistic way that addresses health, addiction, job re-entry and mental health services will provide relief to emergency rooms in a way we haven’t seen before.”
Recuperative Care is short-term residential care that allows homeless individuals the opportunity to recover in a safe environment while accessing medical care and other supportive services. It is a cost-effective and safe way to treat sick or weak individuals without stable housing.
The Whole Person Care program is just one way the Board of Supervisors are addressing homelessness in Orange County. Other projects include the Supervisor Spitzer-led effort to open Bridges at Kraemer Place, the County’s first full service year-round homeless shelter. The shelter finally opened May 5th of this year and will eventually offer 200 beds to homeless individuals each night.
(Portions courtesy of the County of Orange) |
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Bobby McDonald Reappointed to the Veterans Advisory Council |
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(L to R): Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Robert "Bobby" McDonald, Supervisor Michelle Steel, Supervisor Andrew Do at the July 11th Board of Supervisors Meeting. |
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At the July 11th Board of Supervisor Meeting, Bobby McDonald was reappointed to serve as the Third District Representative for the Orange County Veterans Advisory Council. Robert “Bobby” McDonald is a Veteran who served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Black Chamber of Commerce of Orange County. Mr. McDonald has been a long-time activist for veteran affairs and serves his community with integrity and dependability. |
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UCI Named #7 in Best Colleges for Your Money by MONEY Magazine |
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Students at University of California Irvine head to class. UCI was named in top ten schools for MONEY Magazine's Best Colleges for your Money. |
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Congratulations to University of California Irvine for being ranked seventh “Best Colleges for Your Money” by MONEY Magazine! UCI reached top ten schools out of 2,400 colleges ranked by MONEY Magazine for 2017-2018!
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Supervisor Todd Spitzer: “I am Philosophically Opposed” to the Unfair Gas Tax |
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Senate Bill 1 (SB1), aka, the “gas tax”, dramatically raises the base excise tax on gasoline from 18 cents per gallon to 30 cents per gallon. Supervisor Todd Spitzer spoke out against the gas tax at the June 27th Board of Supervisors meeting, calling it “A farce on the taxpayer… One of the most outrageous votes by the state legislature in memory”.
In trying to prevent use of the money collected from the outlandish gas tax increase created by SB1, Supervisor Spitzer suggested changing the language on the agenda item to remove any “backdoor” method of using the gas tax funds without the Board’s approval. This would have provided a safety net to slow access to the funds by moving them into escrow until the pending repeal efforts across the state are completed. Unfortunately, the other Board members disagreed with Supervisor Spitzer, stating that it’s not the County’s responsibility to refuse a State Legislature approved tax, so Supervisor Spitzer cast the only “no” vote on the agenda item.
Summarizing his position, Supervisor Spitzer explained his disappointment, stating simply, “I support the repeal of the gas tax and I don’t think it’s appropriate to spend the gas tax [moneys]” until the outcome of the voters’ initiative to overturn the gas tax is known. |
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Supervisor Spitzer Urges D.A.’s Office Victim Employees to Report Sexual Misconduct as Found by the OC Grand Jury to OC Fraud Hotline |
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(Orange County, CA) – Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Third District, responded to the newly released Orange County Grand Jury Report, “Another Hostile Work Environment? Orange County District Attorney Bureau of Investigation” by urging victim employees of the District Attorney’s office to call the County Fraud Hotline and the Board of Supervisors to adopt a Grand Jury recommendation to appoint an independent investigator to examine why the OCDA and County Human Resources Services are not being used to report misconduct in the OCDA office.
The Grand Jury report illuminates how sexual misconduct in the workplace has many ramifications, often affecting the honest, hard-working professionals that can’t turn a blind eye, nor can they report offenses due to intimidation and career-threatening retaliation.
“The report exemplifies an unacceptable abuse of power, abuse of position, abuse of women and abuse of trust,” Spitzer added.
“The findings of the most recent OC Grand Jury report is the final nail in the coffin full of mounting evidence and allegations of serious misconduct in the Orange County District Attorney’s office under the lack of supervision by Tony Rackauckas,” Supervisor Spitzer continued.
“I am urging my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to adopt the Grand Jury’s recommendation that we appoint an outside, independent investigator to examine why the OCDA and the County Human Resources Services Department are not being used in reporting misconduct within the OCDA office,” stated Spitzer in his call to action.
Spitzer added he will request that the Board grant the independent investigator subpoena power.
“Further, I am urging any employee of the OCDA’s office that has any complaint but has been inhibited from coming forward for any reason, to use the Orange County Fraud Hotline under the protection of the Board of Supervisors at (714) 834-2880. Tony Rackauckas may not protect his employees from sexual harassment but the County will,” Spitzer said.
These are not new allegations of an inappropriate sexual nature in the OCDA Investigation Bureau. In 2015, Supervisor Spitzer, then Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, received a written letter from a California licensed attorney who alleged sexual misconduct by OCDA Chief Investigator Craig Hunter. Supervisor Spitzer reported this to the proper authority, the County Counsel, who contacted the District Attorney. Mr. Rackauckas was also sent a copy of the allegations in a direct complaint by the same attorney that contacted Spitzer.
Previous OC Grand Jury reports, including one from May, 2017 that echoed findings from a similar report in 2002, stated the D.A.’s office under Tony Rackauckas suffers from a lack of leadership. Those conclusions were confirmed by the 4th District Court of Appeals in the Dekraai case and in the IPPEC report by Rackauckas’ own hand-picked evaluation committee that described his office as a ‘rudderless ship’.
Supervisor Spitzer commended the Grand Jury for bringing the culture of sexual misconduct in the District Attorney’s office to light to prevent any cover-up among county agencies.
“To quote the 2017 OC Grand Jury, this ‘lack of supervision and laziness in the practice of law’ (OC Grand Jury Report, May 27, 2017, The Myth of the Orange County Jailhouse Informant Program, pg. 16) is yet another ugly example of negligent leadership in the D.A.’s office. It is imperative in the interest of ethics that the County recognize how Rackauckas has been able to get away with his perverse use of position and power for so long,” concluded Supervisor Spitzer. |
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Supervisor Spitzer is Recruiting for the OC Ethics Commission |
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Supervisor Todd Spitzer and his fellow Supervisors are is looking for a service-minded individual of the highest integrity for appointment to the Orange County Ethics Commission.
Supervisor Spitzer has fought to establish a County ethics commission since his current term in office began in 2013.
In March of this year, Denah Hoard, a former assistant city attorney for the City of Orange, was hired as Executive Director of the Commission.
Each member of the Board of Supervisors will appoint one member to the Ethics Commission. The five member panel will serve the public by advising and making recommendations to the Board and government agencies in areas of regulatory standards, election campaign financing, and proper ethical procedures.
Online applications are available at www.ocethics.com. Applications will remain open only until a candidate is selected. |
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Villa Park Elementary School Oral History and Memory Book Project |
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One of the historic buildings at Villa Park Elementary. |
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Villa Park Elementary School is seeking potential candidates for interviews and/or memory book contributions related to the historic buildings at Villa Park Elementary.
The Villa Park Elementary School had two historic buildings that were constructed between 1919 and 1926 that were listed in the National Register of Historic Places. These buildings were placed out of use in the early 1970s, due to safety concerns and had been sitting, fenced in, within the center of their campus. After several years of discussion, public input and consideration of what to do with these historic buildings, the Orange Unified School District (OUSD) determined that they would be removed from the campus this summer. They have now been demolished.
To mitigate the loss of the historic school buildings, OUSD has contracted a consulting firm, GPA Consulting, to photograph the buildings, conduct an oral history project, and compile a memory book to commemorate the buildings. OUSD and GPA Consulting need your help with the oral histories and memory book:
- Did you attend, work in, or visit Villa Park Elementary while these historic buildings were still in use (pre-1970s), or do you know someone who would be willing to tell us their memories of the school?
- Do you have memorabilia related to the school and/or historic buildings (such as photographs, newspaper clippings, poems, artwork, program brochures, etc.) that you would be willing to donate, lend, or submit to the project team for reproduction and inclusion in the memory book?
Please help us commemorate these wonderful historic buildings! If you would like to participate in our in-person interviews and/or contribute memorabilia for the Oral History & Memory Book Project for Villa Park Elementary School, please contact:
Audrey von Ahrens, Architectural Historian, GPA Consulting
(310) 792-2690, audrey@gpaconsulting-us.com
For further information regarding the buildings, please contact:
Assistant Superintendent Business Services/CBO, Orange Unified School District
(714) 628-4479 |
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Passport Day at Old County Courthouse in Santa Ana: July 29th |
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Passport Day is coming to OC. Take advantage of this special opportunity to get a passport. |
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Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen is holding a special Passport Day in Santa Ana on Saturday July 29th to help the public get their passports now and avoid last minute travel delays.
These special openings make the passport process easier for parents looking to get passports for their children, as both parents must be present to receive passports for children younger than 16, and for people who may not be able to visit the Clerk-Recorder during normal business hours.
Passport Day will be from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM on July 29th at the Old County Courthouse in Santa Ana. For more information, click here or http://www.ocrecorder.com/.
(Portions courtesy of OC Clerk-Recorder). |
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Siverado Summer Concert Series |
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Orange Transportation Center Save the Date |
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A Message from Supervisor Todd Spitzer and OC Parks |
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Dear Friends:
We all share great memories in the parks with our friends, family, and communities. That is why I am helping the OC Parks Department to develop the next steps in their strategic plan to improve our communities. These resources are important to our Third District, so we are asking that you fill out the following brief 18-question survey to provide the County of Orange your thoughts about our parks. This is your opportunity to let us know what is working and what you would like to see more of in your OC parks.
Your feedback is valuable, and your individual responses will be kept confidential. We encourage you to share the link with others – friends, family members, neighbors, park users, constituents… anyone who cares about our parks and their future.
Here is the link to the questionnaire:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OCParksCommunitySurvey
We want to hear from you!
As always, it is an honor to serve you as your Third District Supervisor.
Best regards,
Supervisor Todd Spitzer |
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Supervisor Spitzer Reminds You to Swim Safely |
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As Public Safety and Outreach Chair with the OC Drowning Prevention Taskforce, Supervisor Todd Spitzer is dedicated to raising awareness of water safety.
The hot weather means families and guests are swimming at the beach and jumping into pools across Orange County, but before putting on that swimsuit, it is important to take safety precautions. Always watch your children around water, designate a water-watcher at group events and think twice – bring a buddy and never swim alone.
Click here to view more information on the Drowning Prevention Taskforce: https://youtu.be/tBhcYCVOdto?t=449 |
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“Summer OC” Photo Contest: Deadline Thursday, July 20, 2017 |
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While it may not always be on our minds, we all know how lucky we are to live in Orange County, and we know how special and beautiful our community is. Help us tell Orange County’s story by submitting your best photos of Orange County’s landmarks, timeless beaches, unbeatable sunsets, historic sites, and more to the County’s “Summer OC” Photo Contest.
Whether you’re attending movies or concerts in OC’s parks, swimming or surfing in the local waves, visiting the zoo or enjoying other fun summer activities, enter your pictures into our contest for a chance to win. Photos can range from parks, neighborhoods and beaches to monuments, buildings, libraries and other views of the County.
Entering is easy and free! Submit your photos by email to ceocom@ocgov.com with the subject line “Photo Contest Entry.” Please submit as an attachment (do not embed image files in the message area) and send only one image file per email. For each submission, please include in the email the contestant’s first and last name, a contact phone number, email address, the title of the picture, and the date and location the photo was taken.
Like Orange County’s Facebook page (@ocgov) and follow them on Twitter (@OCGovCA) to see contest updates throughout the month, including the top three photos each week, and to have a chance to vote. Beginning July 21, followers of the County of Orange Facebook page will have the opportunity to vote by liking their favorite picture. Voting will be open through noon on July 28. A winner will be announced on July 28.
The deadline to enter the Summer OC photo contest is Thursday, July 20, 2017. If you have questions contact the Communications Division by email at ceocom@ocgov.com.
(Portions courtesy of County Executive Office). |
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OC Public Libraries’ Summer Library Challenge |
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The Summer Library Challenge is on! Register for the challenge online. |
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From June 19-July 31, children, parents, and families are invited to join the OC Public Libraries for the Summer Library Challenge. Simply register for the challenge online and teens and children can record the amount of time they spend reading to earn badges and receive chances to win prizes and fun events. Adults are also welcome to participate in the challenge.
This is a fun way to get inspired to read this summer. Sign up for the challenge here: http://ocpl.readingbydesign.org/ |
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Pet of the Week |
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Click on the image above to view a PDF version. |
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Events Around the District |
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Anaheim
Christopher T. Magician Let’s Get Building
Wednesday, July 12, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
East Anaheim Branch Library, 8201 East Santa Ana Canyon Road
Strawbees Build-a-Thon 2017
Monday, July 17, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
400 Scout Trail, Anaheim Canyon Hills
Movies in the Park: A Bug’s Life
Friday, August 11, 8:00 PM
Yorba Regional Park, 7600 E. La Palma
Irvine
Movies in the Park: Moana
Friday, July 14, 8:00 PM
Mason Regional Park, 18712 University Drive
Garden Workshop: Composting
Saturday, July 15, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Register online: cityofirvine.org
Orange County Great Park, 6950 Marine Way
Orange County Great Park Famers Market
Saturday, July 16, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Orange County Great Park, 6950 Marine Way
Sizzlin’ Summer Concert Series
Sunday, July 16, 5:30 PM
Mike Ward Community Park, 20 Lake Road
Orange
Concert in the Park
Wednesday, July 12, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Hart Park, 701 S Glassell Street
Create. Compete. Mondays! – 3…2…1…Blast Off!
Monday, July 17, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Orange Library Community Room, 407 E. Chapman Ave.
Help for Small Business Owners
Monday, July 31, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Orange Library Community Room, 407 E. Chapman Ave.
Silverado
Design Your Own Saturday, Origami
Saturday, July 15, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Library of the Canyons, 7531 Santiago Canyon Road
Silverado Summer Concert Series
Saturday, July 15, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Silverado Community Center, 27641 Silverado Canyon Rd.
Tustin
Farmer’s Market
Wednesday, July 12, 9:00 AM to 1 PM
El Camino Real & W. 3rd St.
Concerts in the Park
Wednesday, July 12, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Peppertree Park, 230 W. First St.
Movies in the Park
Thursday, July 20, 5:30 PM
Centennial Park, 14722 Devonshire Ave.
Villa Park
Craft Day, Paper Sculpture Day
Thursday, July 13, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Villa Park Library, 17865 Santiago Blvd.
Read Design Build Storytime
Tuesday, July 25, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Villa Park Library, 17865 Santiago Blvd.
Yorba Linda
Concert Pianist, Michael Sellers
Sunday, July 16, 1:30 PM
Nixon Library, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Richard Moss, Author of “Nixon’s Back Channel to Moscow”
Tuesday, July 18, 7:00 PM
Nixon Library, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Concerts in the Park
Sunday, July 16, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Hurless Barton Park, 4601 Casa Loma Ave.
For questions or comments regarding Spitzer’s E-Newsletter
please contact the Supervisor's office staff at: (714) 834-3330 or Montana.Sudul@ocgov.com
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