Orange County Auditor-Controller Eric Woolery

On Thursday, August 8, our County of Orange Auditor-Controller, Eric Woolery, passed away unexpectedly. He is survived by his loving wife, Lisa, and his two children, Liam and Katie.

I was deeply saddened by the news of his passing. He was an outstanding public servant, who fought for government accountability and transparency.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time. We will always remember him for his excellent sense of humor, dedication to our county, and fiscal ‘watchdog’ legacy.

Again, my deepest condolences go out to Eric's family, friends and loved ones for their loss. To that end, we will adjourn our August 13 Board of Supervisors meeting in his memory. For more information about the late Eric Woolery, please click here.

Last week, my Board colleagues and I finalized the County’s strategy to end veteran homelessness by December 2020, as we directed County staff to contract with a housing navigator to assist veterans in their search for housing.

Marching Home: A Strategy to End Veteran Homelessness in Orange County will develop a systematic, intentional and sustainable multi-sector response to veterans in need of assistance and promote coordination of and collaboration with many partners to meet veterans’ needs.

Our veterans have to overcome serious barriers in order to secure housing, which is why connecting them with housing navigation services is critical. We have to get people out of the shelters and into supportive housing.

After the 2019 Point-In-Time counted 311 veterans experiencing homelessness, our Board directed the Office of Care Coordination to create a strategy to end veteran homelessness.

The strategy aims to reach out to and provide all veterans access to available housing resources by December 2020. The County has collaborated with the Department of Veterans Affairs to host Veteran Housing Resource Fairs in all three regional Service Planning areas to engage veterans experiencing homelessness. Central and North Service Planning Areas had their resource fairs in June and July. The South Service Planning Area resource fair is scheduled for August 30.

Resources for veterans include vouchers for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing, or HUD-VASH. Currently 80 veterans have a HUD-VASH voucher and are searching for available housing unit. The Orange County, Anaheim and Santa Ana housing authorities have another 400 HUD-VASH 

To provide more housing by December 2020, 139 HUD-VASH project-based units are under development, including the 75-unit Santa Ana Veterans Village opening in March 2020, 49-unit Placentia Veterans Village in August 2020 and the 15-unit Salerno at Cypress in September 2020.

Click here to read the full strategy. For more information, visit the Office of Care Coordination website. 

I have great news regarding South County bus routes! As a result of overwhelming public input, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) staff this week withdrew its recommendations to the OCTA Regional Planning and Highways Committee, which would have eliminated three bus routes in South County.

The three bus routes that have been saved are:

• Route 83 (Anaheim – Laguna Hills)
• Route 86 (Costa Mesa – Mission Viejo)
• Route 206 (Santa Ana – Lake Forest Express) – This route instead will only be eliminating one morning and one afternoon service.

OCTA received hundreds of responses and concerns from our local citizens about these routes, which ultimately led staff to reconsider its original elimination recommendations.

As your representative on the OCTA Board of Directors, I am grateful to everyone who submitted public comments on these specific routes. And as an advocate for regional mobility, I applaud you on your successful efforts to save our public transportation options.

When you board a Metrolink train for a day’s adventure, your cares slip away, as you relax and leave stress and traffic behind. San Clemente, also known as the Spanish Village by the Sea, is one of the most popular destinations, and for good reason. San Clemente is one big Instagram moment with fun, food, and activities that please everyone.

Following are five compelling reasons to enter to win the San Clemente Daycation package and enjoy this seaside town:

1) The package includes four Metrolink tickets, four Casa Romantica tickets, and a $100 gift card to the popular Italian Cravings restaurant.

2) Get off the train, step onto the beach. Bring your boards onboard Metrolink.

3) Ride the free trolley around town and to the outlet mall.

4) Top-rated Casa Romantica combines Spanish architecture with gorgeous gardens and views.

5) A few words about Italian Cravings eatery: Calamari, Lobster Ravioli, Garlic Cheese Rolls, Chicken Parmesan!

Enter to win today!

Ride to San Clemente and all the amazing Metrolink destinations using the Metrolink Weekends Day Pass. Unlimited rides all day Saturday or Sunday are only $10 and kids age 5 and under ride free with paying adult (up to three per adult). Learn more about visiting San Clemente and other great Metrolink Daycation spots! 

The California State Library named Orange County as the “County of the Month” for its California History Section. 

Without the efforts of our Orange County Public Libraries (OCPL), local residents would lack a sense of community and shared past. This distinction highlights organizations involved in local cultural preservation and outreach, as well as the varied local history resources available to researchers at the State Library. For more information, click here.

OC Public Libraries offers many ways the public can learn about the history of Orange County!

OC Stories celebrates Orange County's rich cultural diversity by documenting through photo, video, and audio local historical events, people, businesses, and institutions over the past 100+ years. More info can be found here. 

San Juan Capistrano Branch Library

OCPL's' Cal Humanities Community Stories project, "Indigenous Voices of San Juan Capistrano: The Acjachemen (Juaneño) Indian Community," documents the unique cultural continuity and communal memory of one of Orange County's indigenous people. More info can be found here.

Laguna Beach Branch Library

Beyond our digital resources, visit the Laguna Beach Library to find old newspapers on microfiche and phone books from the past.

The Old Orange County Courthouse houses OC Archives.

Along with the resources offered by OCPL, Orange County Archives serves as the main repository for historic property documents, vital records and other materials from county government. OC Archives is open daily to offer assistance to local historians, property researchers, genealogists and students. Find out more here. 

Congratulations to our Orange County Public Libraries!

OC Public Libraries (OCPL) has introduced a new feature that makes manually renewing library materials a thing of the past. As such, all eligible items checked out from a library branch, including print books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays, will now be automatically renewed the day they are due for a maximum of up to five times.

Automatic renewal is the next step to making it easier for patrons to keep library items they enjoy. Patrons no longer need to access their account or call the library when wanting to renew a borrowed item, with some exceptions. Materials not eligible for automatic renewal are those with holds, already renewed five times, checked out to home-bound patrons, Interlibrary Loan items and Lucky Day books.

OCPL is aiming to make life easier for their patrons by automatically renewing items and helping avoid late fees. Automatic renewal should significantly cut down on overdue fines when patrons inadvertently forget or are unable to renew items themselves, resulting in saving patrons’ time and giving them peace of mind.

This new service does not require sign-up and is active at all 33 library branches. For more information, visit the OCPL website.

Click the image above to enlarge.

John Wayne Airport is partnering with Make-A-Wish® Orange County and the Inland Empire to help grant wishes for local children battling critical illnesses through the Trips that Transform campaign encouraging travelers to donate their unused, low balance or soon-to-expire airline miles for American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, or United Airlines.

Every donated mile helps Wish kids and their families travel to destinations across the Country. Help the local chapter accumulate the more than 44 million air miles needed each year to grant a life-changing wish. Once donated, airline miles never expire.

Click the image above to enlarge.

The popular South County band "Family Style" will perform Friday, August 9 from 6 PM to 8 PM in Mission Viejo on the Village Green at Oso Viejo Park. With a dynamic stage show and music from Stevie Wonder, Prince, and James Brown, plus a healthy dose of David Bowie, Steve Ray Vaughn and Santana, Family Style will get you on your feet for a funky good time! Click here for more info.

Presented by Doheny Blues Festival and the City of Dana Point, the Sunday, August 11 concert at Sea Terrace Park features two bands, Kalimba (Earth, Wind & Fire tribute) at 3 PM, and Hot August Night (Neil Diamond tribute) at 4:30 PM. Refreshments and food available for purchase. For more info, click here.

Enjoy the Music in the Park summer concerts every Sunday in Laguna Beach from 5 PM to 7 PM at Bluebird Park (Bluebird Canyon Dr./Cress St.) Free trolley service is available to the park.

8/11:  Upstream (Reggae/Calypso)

8/18:  Boys of Summer (Eagles Tribute)

8/25:  LA Sound Machine (Gloria Estefan Tribute)

Head over to Lake Forest Sports Park on Saturday, August 17 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM for a Classic Rock Concert and Car Show featuring The Long Run (Eagles tribute) and Creedenced (CCR tribute). 

Mission San Juan Capistrano is pleased to offer a new program for the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) community, including adults and children on the autism spectrum, as well as their families, friends and caregivers. This program encourages individuals to explore, reflect, and learn in an environment that is comfortable for them.

ASD Accessibility Hour will take place four times throughout the 2019-2020 school year. These dates and times (listed below) were selected to provide a quiet and less-crowded experience for visitors on the spectrum to explore the Mission at their own pace. During ASD Accessibility Hours, the Mission will offer a “quiet room” from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. if visitors need a space to desensitize and decompress. The Mission is proud to be a place of inspiration, education, and preservation for all.

ASD DATES AND HOURS

• Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 27. 2019: 8 a.m. – 9 a.m.*
• Tuesday, April 28, 2020: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
• Friday, June 19, 2020: 8 a.m. – 9 a.m.*

*opening an hour early

Call for pricing and to schedule!

General admission rates apply during ASD Accessibility Hour. Attendees are welcome to arrive before 4 p.m. on ASD Hour afternoon dates and stay after 9 a.m. on ASD Hour morning dates. To reserve your spot for ASD Accessibility Hour, contact Group Bookings at bookatour@missionsjc.com or (949) 234-1306. For more information, please click here.

• Participated in a Joint Meeting of the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) Boards of Directors.
• Addressed our OC Human Resource Services (HRS) staff about my road to becoming an Orange County Supervisor and future plans for the Civic Center, including more employee benefits and job growth opportunities.

Addressing OC Human Resource Services staff about my road to becoming an Orange County Supervisor, etc.

• Attended the Artsy August reception hosted by the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce.

L-R: Laguna Beach Assistant City Manager Christa Johnson, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Paula Hornbuckle-Arnold, my Community Relations Advisor Sergio Prince, Laguna Beach Company Vice President Hasty Honarker, and Chamber Board President J.J. Ballesteros at the Artsy August reception.