Please be advised that applications for the 5th District Small Business Grant Relief Program are live and will be accepted until the application deadline Sunday, June 28 at 5 PM. However, if necessary, the deadline will be extended to July 5 at 5 PM.

That being said, eligible businesses and nonprofits are highly encouraged to apply NOW for a grant of up to $10,000. General information, eligibility criteria, and the application link can be found by visiting the dedicated program webpage.

An informational webinar with the Small Business Development Center was also held last week to provide additional details and answer questions about the program. To view the webinar, please click here. For more information about the Small Business Grant Relief Program, please click here or on the image below.

Click the image above to enlarge.

On Saturday, June 20, I was pleased to join Saddleback Church in hosting a South County Drive-Thru Grocery Distribution at Laguna Hills Mall to support individuals and families who have fallen on hard times as a result of COVID-19. 

Saddleback Church graciously supplied fresh produce, dairy products, bread/desserts, protein, and canned goods. The event was open to drive-thru or walk-in traffic. 

I am deeply grateful to Saddleback Church for their outstanding efforts to help feed those in need during this very difficult time, as well as Laguna Hills Mall for providing their wonderful venue for our South County Drive-Thru Grocery Distribution! 

Click the image above to view the photo album.

To view the photo album of our South County Drive-Thru Grocery Distribution at Laguna Hills Mall, click here or on the image above.

Dana Point Harbor is happy to welcome back the community with You, Me + Vitamin Sea, offering a full schedule of outdoor summer entertainment, as the retailers, restaurants, marina, and hotel in the Harbor open for shopping, dining and activities.

Load up the family vehicle for a drive-in movie experience, as Dana Point Harbor presents Disney’s Moana on July 16. Enjoy live music from 6:30 PM, before the movie starts at sunset. Tickets are $25 per car and available for purchase here. 

Every Thursday through July welcomes live music performances at The Wharf Courtyard by Frisby Cellars and Jon’s Fish Market from 4 PM to 6 PM. Singer-songwriter Zach Churchill will perform July 9 & 16, and country pop artist Olivia Ooms will take the stage July 2, 23 & 30.

Dana Point Harbor restaurants are offering outdoor and waterside dining in extended patio areas, in addition to curbside pickup and delivery options. Retailers are welcoming in-store shopping as well as curbside delivery options from select stores.

The newly renovated Dana Point Marina Inn is open for the next vacation to relax poolside while soaking in the Harbor views. The hotel has recently become pet-friendly, so your furry friend can enjoy a vacation as well!

For adventures out on the water, boaters can reserve a guest slip at The Marina at Dana Point and use code “SEA2020” to receive 20% off their reservation. Captain Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari and Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching are offering reduced capacity whale watching trips to experience blue whales, humpback whales, and more.

Dana Point Harbor Partners remains committed to the health and wellness of harbor guests, employees, and the community. Directional signage has been placed throughout the Harbor to promote physical distancing. Cleaning and sanitation has increased in all common areas and restrooms throughout the harbor.  Restaurants and retailers have additional safety protocols in place, visitors are encouraged to contact individual businesses for their guidelines.

For more information on “You, Me + Vitamin Sea” and summer at the Harbor, visit DanaPointHarbor.com or connect on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

This week, OC Public Works (OCPW) held a Virtual Community Meeting Trabuco Canyon Road Bridge Replacement Project. The purpose of the meeting was to:

• Inform the public about the need to replace the Trabuco Canyon Road Bridge.
• Provide information about three potential bridge replacement options, anticipated timeline and next steps.
• Receive comments and questions from the public.
• Encourage the public to complete an online survey to provide their preferences for a bridge replacement option.

While the bridge is technically within the Third District of Orange County, represented by Supervisor Don Wagner, it also abuts the boundary line of my district, the Fifth District, and many of my constituents often travel along this roadway. As such, I asked OC Public works to provide a summary report of the meeting for those who may have missed it. To view the summary report from OCPW, click here or on the image below.

Click the image above to view the summary report.

This week, my office had the great pleasure of presenting a well-deserved proclamation to Lara Fisher, who is retiring after 8+ years at the helm as CEO of South County Outreach.

My Community Relations Advisor, Sergio Prince, presents a proclamation to Lara Fisher of South County Outreach.

For over 30 years, South County Outreach (originally Saddleback Community Outreach), has been a respected leader in the fight to end hunger and homelessness in Orange County, with the belief that helping people help themselves is the most effective way to build a self-sustaining community.

Lara Fisher of South County Outreach

Under Lara Fisher's leadership, South County Outreach was named California Nonprofit of the Year and Bank of America Neighborhood Builder, in addition to successfully implementing various outstanding programs that provided much needed assistance to more than 2,000 people each month.

I want to thank Lara Fisher for her outstanding service to the residents of Orange County and wish her all the best in her retirement!

The Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) continues to release the daily COVID-19 case counts by cities in Orange County, in addition to the cumulative cases and deaths to date in Orange County. As of today, HCA is reporting 11,511 positive cumulative cases, including 306 deaths in Orange County, as well as 394 currently hospitalized with 147 in ICU.

Please be advised that the city data is reflective of where cases live, not necessarily where transmission occurred. Additionally, city numbers should not be interpreted to reflect where transmission is geographically focused or not, as COVID-19 is present in all communities in Orange County.

Case counts are also not reflective of all disease transmission in any given community because testing is prioritized for those at greatest risk or most sick. Asymptomatic and persons with mild disease may not be reflected due to not being tested.

Because transmission occurs throughout the County, it is important for all residents to practice social-distancing as directed by the Governor and the Orange County Health Officer regardless of the case count in their city. Doing so will help to reduce the spread of infection, ease the burden on our hospital and healthcare system, and protect those most vulnerable in our county.

The Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) has announced our new COVID-19 data dashboard, which is modeled after several other jurisdictions also using ESRI's GIS mapping software platform to display data charts, graphs and maps.

Key features of HCA’s new COVID-19 data dashboard include:

1. Utilizes data from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for all 33 hospitals in Orange County, including those without emergency departments.

2. Confirmed cases will be reported based on the date of specimen collection to be more in line with the State and help reduce some reporting time-lags.

3. Case maps at the city and ZIP code of residence are displayed. By clicking on the city or ZIP code area, a pop up box displays the number, rate, as well as skilled nursing facility (SNF) cases.

4. Deaths are reported and mapped by city and ZIP code of residence. By clicking on the city or ZIP code area, a pop up box displays the total number, as well as the number of SNF deaths.

5. A new tab reporting the CDPH's COVID-19 monitoring metrics has been added that reports the three main metrics: disease transmission, hospitalizations, and hospital/intensive care unit capacity trends.

For more information, please click here.

Posing the question - “Could it be COVID?” - the Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) this week launches a multifaceted community outreach and advertising initiative aimed at the County’s most vulnerable populations – people who can’t get COVID-19 testing from their health care providers or may not have insurance.

The more we do to get the information out about COVID-19, especially to those who are most vulnerable, the safer our county will be. It is very important we use every tool at our disposal to connect with our hard-to-reach populations, so they know what options are available to them for testing.

Partnering with community health centers that are performing FDA-approved PCR testing, HCA launched its COVID-19 Testing Network on April 21 with five initial locations. That testing network has now grown to nearly 20 locations throughout the County, where people with symptoms can get a free PCR test, the most reliable testing available to detect current infection.

In addition, four State Optum Serve test locations and more than 30 private providers now offer no-cost testing to most people recommended for testing by Public Health Services.

“We are so pleased that our community health centers have partnered with us on this extremely important work,” said Dr. Clayton Chau, Acting County Health Officer and Director of the OC Health Care Agency. “Now, we need to get the word out and make sure those test sites are fully utilized.”

Orange County residents can click here or call the HCA Health Referral Line at (800) 564-8448 to make an appointment at a nearby test site. Next day or, in some cases, same day appointments are available. In Orange County, testing priority is given to people with symptoms, as well as asymptomatic individuals who are health care workers, first responders, social service employees, or those who are or may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.  

Community outreach efforts to promote testing knowledge and utilization initially focused on countywide nonprofit, faith-based and social service organizations. Street teams distributed more than 45,000 flyers in eight languages - English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Farsi, Arabic, Korean, Chinese and Taiwanese - and HCA used on online platform to reach more than 40,000 parents of school children in six Orange County school districts.

The next elements of the testing campaign, marketing and advertising elements launching in June and July, include print, radio, cable TV, digital outdoor boards, check cashing sleeves, digital and social media in three languages – English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Focusing on symptoms of COVID-19 - such as coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fever, chills, shaking, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell - the ads feature images of people coughing, holding their head, and blowing their nose with the simple premise that you can get the answers you need with free COVID-19 testing.

Newspaper ads, radio, social media posts and web banner ads target the Spanish-speaking population. Special inserts, advertorials, print, and digital ads target Vietnamese-speaking community members. 

As Orange County’s Medi-Cal plan, CalOptima supports the HCA’s new marketing and advertising campaign because it will raise awareness about COVID-19 testing among many of its vulnerable members who speak Spanish or Vietnamese. CalOptima also appreciates the expanded access to more testing centers, which will make it easier for members to obtain a test in their area without encountering delays or transportation issues. 

“CalOptima members are fully covered for COVID-19 testing at no cost,” said Richard Sanchez, Interim Chief Executive Officer. “They should not hesitate to get tested when needed, and this effort to remove barriers will make a difference in the health of our community.”

For more information and resources about COVID-19, click here. To view the Board of Supervisors Toolkit, click on the image below.

Click the image above for more info.

As OC slowly starts to reopen, and in an effort to keep the public informed on all issues related to reopening process and COVID-19, the County recently launched a new website, Together OC. The site is designed to provide residents and businesses with a one-stop-shop for all COVID-19 related matters.

In addition, the site will be updated frequently and provide the latest information on business sector re-openings, county health orders, unemployment benefits, frequently asked questions, and much more. For more information, please visit Together OC.

New “Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings” was issued recently by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The document updates existing CDPH guidance for the use of cloth face coverings by the general public when outside the home.

The updated guidelines mandate that face coverings be worn statewide in the circumstances and with the exceptions outlined in the document below. It does not substitute for existing guidance about social distancing and handwashing. For more information, click here or on the image below.

Click the image above to enlarge
and scroll down for more information.

Many of you are at home working or self-isolating and spending more time on the internet. Unfortunately, thieves are taking advantage of this situation and coming up with new and innovative ways to separate you from your money.

Now would be a good time to educate yourself on the various ploys that are used by scammers regarding COVID-19. Read more here.

As the spread and far reaching impacts of COVID-19 dominate the world news, we have all witnessed and experienced the parallel spread of worry, anxiety, and uncertainty. The way to overcome this natural tendency is to build our mental resilience, the ability to refocus, clear our minds, and discard negative thoughts.

Here's what you can do...

1) Remember that knowledge is power. Understanding the factors that affect a person’s immune response to COVID-19 will matter as much as, or more than, understanding the virus. There is great information available on the Orange County Health Care Agency's website, 

2) Don’t accept everything you read or hear. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides information and frequent updates on the COVID-19’s spread, severity, risk assessment, etc., on the CDC's website. 

3) Get your emotional support system in place:

• Maintain familiar routines in daily life as much as possible; take care of your basic needs and employ helpful coping strategies; rest during work or between shifts, eat healthy food and engage in physical activity.
• Stay connected with friends and family, even virtually connected, and maintain your social networks.
• Have the emails and phone numbers of close friends and family handy.

4) Take control, incorporate preventative measures:

• See the CDC’s list of preventative measures.
• The constant stream of news reports can cause anyone to feel anxious or distressed. Instead, seek updates and practical guidelines at intervals during the day.
• Be supportive to others. Assisting others in their time of need can benefit the person receiving support as well as the helper.

If you or a loved one are feeling anxiety, worry or fear related to the social disruption caused by COVID-19, you can also reach out to these resources for support:

• Call (855) OC-LINKS or visit the OC Links website Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM to talk or chat with a trained clinical navigator.
• The NAMI Warmline is also here to provide non-crisis support for anyone struggling with mental health concerns Monday through Friday from from 9 AM to 3 AM, and Saturday and Sunday 10 AM to 3 AM. Call (877) 910-WARM or visit www.namioc.org.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
• Download the NAMI HelpLine Coronavirus Information and Resources Guide
• American Psychological Association (APA) ‘Building Your Resilience’

For general information about COVID-19, please call the OC Health Care Agency’s (HCA) Health Referral Line at (833) 426-6411, HCA website, or follow HCA on Facebook and Twitter.

OC Public Libraries (OCPL) is pleased to report their literacy program, OC READ, was invited to participate in the 2019-2020 Book to Action program.

As such, OCPL is excited to let you know about their upcoming virtual programs:

• Composting with OC Waste & Recycling (Steven Halligan)
• "Being the Change" - Book Discussion
• A Conversation with Peter Kalmus

Book to Action invites community members to read and discuss a book on a current topic, attend speaker events, and participate in a community engagement project. OC READ selected Peter Kalmus’ "Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution."

Click the image above for more info.

OCPL's goal is to raise awareness of the importance of each individual’s role in sustainability and to invite the community to make small changes in their everyday lives.

Steven Halligan and author Peter Kalmus will be answering questions during their respective events, and attendees are also welcome to submit questions and to request a free copy of the book beforehand. RSVP is required. For more information, click here.

OC Public Libraries (OCPL) recently announced its new Virtual Programs webpage, as OCPL staff worked hard to create some amazing digital content. To date, OCPL has dozens of virtual programs published on social media (with dozens more in our backlog ready to be published!) and our communities are responding positively to the new way we are providing service.

This site will be updated regularly. For more information, click here or on the image below.

Click the image above for more info.

Enjoy a FREE livestream event Friday, June 26 at 6:30 PM on AlertTheGlobe.com. The show, taking place at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, will feature "The Immediate Family."

Take 10, produced by Camino Real Playhouse in San Juan Capistrano, is an opportunity to entertain you, as well as your chance to enjoy one of their favorite 10 minute plays. Take 10 minutes Tuesday and watch one of one of their favorite 'ShowOff!' plays, "Family Portrait," written by Scott Lummer.

Experience great art from celebrated museums around the globe virtually through the magic of tableaux vivants, or living pictures, Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach has launched #TourDePageant,a social media series, showcasing past Pageant re-creations with real people posing as works of art. This art-stopping online initiative offers a unique look into some of the most famous museums in the world, all from the comfort of your home.

With society practicing social distancing, the arts are needed more now than ever. Festival of Arts hopes this online initiative will enrich, entertain and inspire during this challenging time.

Laguna Playhouse brings you their "Play-at-Home" series, designed to keep you connected to the Playhouse artists you love, and some more fun stuff to pass the time while your at home. For more information, click here.

Sunset Serenades from your Sofa is a new virtual video series. The Laguna Beach Arts Commission has postponed the May and June concert series due to COVID-19, but the musicians want to give the community a personal message.

Mission San Juan Capistrano invites all to visit their Digital Resource Center (DRC) for continued ways to experience, learn, and interact with the Mission. The DCR offers many digital events and video tours, including:

• Mission Garden Tour Video
• Birds Eye View Video
• Moment with a Docent Video
• Digital Photography Art Exhibit
• En Plein Air Digital Artwork Exhibit
• Fourth Grade Free Voucher
• Distance Learning Page for Parents & Teachers
• Reopen Dates for Mission San Juan Capistrano
• Sunset Stroll through the Mission Gardens
• Digital Museum Archives

For more information, please click here.

If you can’t come to Ocean Institute in beautiful Dana Point Harbor, we want to bring Ocean Institute to you! A variety of topics will be covered, including ocean science, ocean conservation, and maritime history. Lessons include a video resource and an educational activity for you to try at home. For more information, click here.

Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clemente is the historic home of Ole Hansen, the founder of the city of San Clemente, Casa Romantica invites you to Live Virtually @ the Casa and enjoy world-class arts and culture in your home with highlighted Casa virtual artists and activities. For more information, click here.

Even though Pacific Symphony has temporarily suspended live concerts in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a public health precaution, the Symphony will stay in touch online, serving up culture and entertainment. Their new Watch+Listen page provides you with a central overview for all the Symphony’s offerings online!