Header image with Photo of Supervisor Pat Bates. Followed by office information
September 14, 2012

Pat Bates's Picture

Welcome to this edition of the Fifth District Report, an electronic newsletter keeping you updated about the events taking place in Orange County and in the Fifth District. It is my hope that you find this distribution informative and I would encourage you to contact me regarding any thoughts, comments, or concerns you may have.

PatBates@ocgov.com


IN THIS ISSUE...

1. PAT’S PERSPECTIVE

2. BOARD BULLETIN BOARD

3. TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION

4. FIFTH DISTRICT SPOTLIGHT

5. ENVIRONMENTAL MEMOS

6. HEALTH HERALD

7. SAFETY SENTINEL

8. CRITTER CHRONICLES

9. SOUTH COUNTY CALENDAR

10. FIFTH DISTRICT WRAP-UP


OUR STAFF...

Don Hughes:
Chief of Staff

Kristen Thornton:
Deputy Chief of Staff

Ray Grangoff:
Deputy Chief of Staff

Sergio Prince:
Policy Advisor

Sabrina Ross:
Policy Advisor

Ruth Strachan:
Office Manager

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Volume 6 Issue 35
BOARD BULLETIN BOARD

Tools for Law Enforcement

On Tuesday, the Board approved two items that will assist County law enforcement in their ability to maintain high levels of public safety in Orange County. First, we accepted a US Department of Justice grant in the amount of $446,645 for the DNA Backlog Reduction Program. The OC Crime Lab will use these funds to reduce case turnaround time, increase the number of cases analyzed and reduced backlogs.

Additionally, the Board also approved a resolution authorizing the Sheriff to assist with all necessary activities, to support Collaborative Organizations Active in Disasters - Orange County (COAD-OC). COAD-OC is a collaborating body used to foster communication and coordination among all volunteer, non-profit and faith-based community programs providing leadership and response to disasters Countywide. As we are reminded each September 11th, we must always be prepared to respond to disasters, both manmade and natural.

Public Health Emergency Preparedness

On Tuesday, the Board renewed the County’s annual grant from the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for bio-hazard and bio-terrorism disaster planning.

The grant funds planning and support activities for a variety of bio-hazards and bio-terrorism disaster plans and protocols, including the Strategic National Stockpile Annex, Points-of-Dispensing planning program, Chempack Response Plan and the Orange County Health Care Agency’s operation center in the National Incident Management System.

The grant also provides funding to assist hospitals and the health care safety net to develop bio-hazards and bio-terrorism response plans, as well as the operation and training of the Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers Program. For more information, please click here.

Aliso Creek Conservation Corps Project

At Tuesday’s meeting the Board approved a sponsor agreement with the Orange County Conservation Corps for the removal of invasive Arundo along a portion of Aliso Creek within Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park. It is part of a larger, coordinated program to replace the Arundo along the entire length of the Creek with native vegetation, resulting in reduced risk of fire and flooding and improved water quality.

The Orange County Conservation Corps is an organization that provides young men and women of Orange County training in job skills through its public service program. The work will begin immediately after the year’s bird nesting ends on September 15th and should be completed by December 21, 2013. For more information about this project please click here.

JWA Offers Service to Two New Locations in Mexico

On Tuesday, the Board approved a lease for airline company Interjet to begin service at John Wayne Airport. Interjet will operate flights to Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico operating in Terminals B and C at the airport.

Interjet conducted and successfully passed their noise test at John Wayne Airport on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. Interjet is now awaiting a few federal approvals. Assuming those are granted, Interjet plans to inaugurate service in mid-October.

TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION

Caltrans Welcomes New District 12 Director

Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty has announced the appointment of Division Chief of Transportation Planning Ryan Chamberlain as the new Caltrans District 12 Director where he will oversee all department functions within Orange County.

A native of Orange County, Chamberlain joined Caltrans more than 12 years ago and has held leadership positions in various planning and assistance departments, including Deputy District Director of Planning and Local Assistance in District 12.

Transportation Corridor Agencies Appoints Interim Director

Earlier this month Tom Margro, the CEO of the Foothill/Eastern and San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency announced his retirement. At Thursday’s Board Meetings the Directors appointed TCA’s Chief Communications Officer Lisa Telles as Acting CEO. Additionally, I was named to be a member of the Executive Search subcommittee which will be responsible for interviewing and selecting a new permanent CEO. I wish Mr. Margro well in his retirement and thank him for his service and leadership.

FIFTH DISTRICT SPOTLIGHT

Olympic Gold Medalist Honored in Hometown of Laguna Beach

On September 1, more than 300 people gathered at the Laguna Beach High pool deck to welcome home Olympic gold medalist water polo player Annika Dries to her old aquatic arena. Dries, 20, is a graduate of Laguna Beach High School.

At the event, Dries received a proclamation from Laguna Beach Mayor Jane Egly and also shared her London Olympic journey with the crowd. She thanked her age-group and high school coaches, Ethan Damato, and Chad Beeler, along with club coach, Brad Schumacher of SET. She also credited her U.S. teammates for making her Olympic experience so satisfying.

A former Orange County Register Player of the Year, Dries signed autographs, posed for pictures and let people hold her gold medal at the event.

ENVIRONMENTAL MEMOS

California Coastal Cleanup Day 2012

Each year, cities and civic groups don gloves and scour Orange County’s beaches and inner coastal waterways to rid them of trash that would otherwise end up in the Pacific Ocean. This year’s Cleanup Day is on September 15th, this year’s clean-up day. OC Dana Point Harbor is seeking volunteers for the Coastal Cleanup event and the Dana Point Harbor Cigarette Butt Roundup event. This promises to be one of the largest volunteer events of the year.

Both events will take place between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Volunteers are encouraged to Bring Your Own (BYO) reusable bag or bucket, gloves and reusable water bottles. To register, please call (949) 499-4499.

OC Dana Point Harbor is also organizing an Underwater Cleanup Event for the same day between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Open water-certified divers, kayakers and any volunteers can register and obtain more information by contacting Dana Point Marina Company at (949) 496-6137 or can simply check in during the event at the East Basin Island Parking Lot.

Inner Coastal and Watershed Cleanup Day 2012

Coastal Cleanup Day is a national and international event, but over the last decade there has been growing recognition of the need to keep the inner coastal waterways trash-free, since all these waterways eventually reach the ocean. This year, volunteers are needed to help clean up the following inner coastal sites:
  • Narco Channel: The meeting location is adjacent to Laguna Niguel Regional Park. Event is co-hosted by Trails4All, Orange County Public Works, Orange County Flood Control District and OC Parks. Please contact Beatrice Musacchia at 714-955-0612 or via email at Beatrice.musacchia@ocpw.ocgov.com

  • Bartlett Basin: The meeting location is at the NE corner of Adams Ave. & Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach. This site is co-hosted/sponsored by Trails4All, OC Public Works, Orange County Flood Control District, City of HB, Earth Resource Foundation and the Orange County Stormwater Program. PLEASE CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE WITH THE SITE TEAM CAPTAIN: Grant Sharp: Phone: (714) (714) 955-0674 Email: grant.sharp@ocpw.ocgov.com

  • Lower Santa Ana River: This meeting site is at Bard Park located at 10299 Cynthia Drive, south of Adams Avenue, in Huntington Beach. This site is co-hosted/sponsored by Trails4All, OC Public Works, Orange County Flood Control District, Surfrider Foundation and the Orange County Stormwater Program. Participants should CONFIRM ATTENDANCE WITH SITE TEAM CAPTAIN: Kim Buss Phone: (714) 955-0675 Email: kimberly.buss@ocpw.ocgov.com
For more information on Cleanup Day and the Orange County Stormwater Program, visit www.ocwatersheds.com/publiced.

HEALTH HERALD

CalOptima Honors Orange County Organizations

CalOptima honored four outstanding community organizations with Safety Net Awards for their commitment to serve Orange County’s vulnerable populations including women in crisis, people with mental illness, and low-income children and families by providing access to health care and social services.

The 2012 Safety Net Award recipients are:
  • Grandma’s House of Hope
  • Mental Health Association of Orange County
  • Serve the People Community Health Center
  • Vietnamese Community of Orange County Inc.
The Safety Net Award in Honor of Mary K. Dewane program distributes a total of $100,000 to distinguished groups that support vulnerable populations and strengthen the health care safety net in Orange County. Established in 2004, the awards program was named for Mary K. Dewane, CalOptima’s first Chief Executive Officer, and recognizes achievements that enhance access to quality health care.

SAFETY SENTINEL

Fire Prevention Fee

The State Responsibility Area (SRA) Fire Prevention Benefit Fee was approved and enacted by the California State Legislature in July of 2011.

Owners of habitable structures, which are defined by the State to be buildings that can be occupied for residential use, and who are within the boundaries of an SRA, will be billed an annual fee of $150, which must be paid within 30 days of notice. The fee is levied and collected by the State in order to fund a variety of fire prevention services within SRAs, including brush clearance and activities to improve forest health. Neither the County of Orange, nor the Orange County Fire Authority, endorses the bill or is involved with the billing or collection of this fee.

Here are some facts that are important to Orange County residents:
  • SRA does not include lands within city boundaries or in federal ownership.
  • In Orange County, there are approximately 7,096 SRA parcels potentially affected.
  • Orange County is a designated SRA, but because it is protected by a local agency, the Orange County Fire Authority, the law requires a $35 fee reduction. Thus, Orange County residents who are assessed this fee will pay $115 annually.
  • For information regarding who is affected, billing, collection, or other specific inquires about the law, visit: www.firepreventionfee.org or call the Fire Prevention Fee Call Center at 888-310-6447.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association opposes the fee and plans to file a lawsuit. Any individual looking to seek reimbursement for the fee, or for more information regarding the lawsuit, should visit www.hjta.org and click on the fire tax banner.

AlertOC 3nd Annual Regional Test

More than two million Orange County residents will receive a call on September 20, at 10:00 a.m. to test the County’s regional mass notification system known as AlertOC. This is the third annual regional test of the system and will include 24 participating cities and the County’s unincorporated areas.

Residents are encouraged to self-register their cell phone numbers and other alternate numbers to be a part of the regional test. The key feature of AlertOC is the ability for residents to register more than one contact method at a specific address. Registrations of cell phone and alternate numbers increase the potential of reaching the greatest number of community members as rapidly as possible. This enables landlines, cell phones and e-mail addresses to be incorporated into a single notification system.

The regional test will be held in conjunction with National Emergency Preparedness Month. The AlertOC drill on September 20 will replicate a large scale, multi-jurisdictional emergency requiring thousands of numbers to be called simultaneously across Orange County’s entire region. The phone message will urge all residents to prepare for real-life emergencies by registering their cell numbers, text numbers and e-mail addresses at www.AlertOC.com for the best chance to receive vital, timely information when away from home.

For more information or to register alternate phone numbers, visit www.AlertOC.com. Commuters are reminded to be safe and use hands-free devices when talking on the phone and driving.

CRITTER CHRONICLES

Love 'Em and Leash 'Em

Come enjoy a day at Irvine Regional Park geared specifically for you and your four-legged, furry friend on Saturday, September 15 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM!

The free program will feature dog adoptions and various dog-specific vendors. Prior to the main event, from 8 to 9 a.m., three hikes at different difficulties will be offered: Pokey Pooch Hike, Moderate Mutt Hike and Hardy Hound Hike.

There will be numerous participants, including OC Animal Care, Irvine Animal Care Center, PETCO, Orange County Sheriff’s Department Search and Resuce Bloodhound Team and more! Also, canine actor, model and biker dog Emma Zen will make a special appearance! In addition, there will be contests with prizes for both dogs and owners to compete in, including a Dog Kissing Contest and a Dog Cake Walk! A prize will also be given to the first person to adopt a dog! Food trucks Dogzilla and Kidbeanz Espresso will be on site selling delicious treats. Please remember all dogs must be on a 6-foot leash at all times. Parking is $5. For more information, click here.

SOUTH COUNTY CALENDAR

Battle of the Paddle: Sept. 29 and 30

Come for the very best competition, exhibition, and Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) vendor village you will find anywhere on the California coast. World class SUPpers from all over the globe will be here to grab for the gold. It’s a free event for visitors, including a spectacular Kid Zone. For more information, click here.

FIFTH DISTRICT WRAP-UP

In addition to my many meetings, briefings, and other supervisorial activities, I also:
  • Met with Presiding Judge Thomas Boris and CEO of the OC Superior Courts Alan Carlson regarding South County court facilities
  • Attended a Farm-to-Table dinner to celebrate the opening the new Whole Foods in Newport Beach
My office also:
  • Toured the Saddle Crest property in Santiago Canyon
  • Attended the Mental Health Board Study Meeting
  • Attended the MHSA Accountability Commission Meeting
My staff and I look forward to continually providing you updated information in our Fifth District Newsletter and website.

Please feel free to contact my office with your concerns, comments or questions at (714) 834-3550. It is an honor and a privilege to serve as your Supervisor for Orange County's Fabulous Fifth District.

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