The holidays are a wonderful time of year, when showing kindness, compassion and gratitude are all important. As such, Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to help spread this joyful and heartfelt message everywhere!

Wishing You and Yours a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hanukkah is a traditional Jewish holiday that is celebrated during the time of eight days and nights. This year, Hanukkah begins on the evening of Sunday, November 28, followed by eight nights of traditional activities, including the lighting of the menorah.

To our Jewish friends everywhere, may this joyous season bring you peace, health and happiness throughout the coming year!

At a special meeting of the Orange County Board of Supervisors on November 22, the Board voted 3-2 to move forward with Map 5A-1. I want to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone who participated in the process, as your input was invaluable and critical to the Board’s deliberations on the final selection of a map.

Given the required parameters we needed to follow, I truly believe Map 5A-1 was the best outcome for Orange County as a whole in that it minimizes division, creates fair and equitable representation, complies with the Federal Voting Rights Act, and keeps the majority of South County intact.

To view Map 5A-1, including technical corrections, a breakdown of the new 5th District boundaries, and a listing of cities and unincorporated areas, click here. To see a general timeline and calendar of what to expect moving forward, click here.

Air travel during the Thanksgiving travel period through Sunday, November 28 is expected to be a very busy one. Passengers traveling through John Wayne Airport can expect to see increased passenger traffic and busier roadways. For more information, click here.

Have you ever wondered how Lake Forest came to be a debt-free city, home to an award-winning Sports Park and the largest Skatepark in California, and revitalized El Toro Road? The first Mayor and early City leaders will discuss the decisions that made Lake Forest what it is today at the City’s 30th Birthday Party from 2 to 5:30 p.m. on December 4, at the Civic Center.

In the 1990s, early leaders started grassroots coalitions and community groups to fight for cityhood. They engaged with the public through outreach campaigns to gather input and support. Their dedication led to the incorporation of the City of Lake Forest in 1991. Despite the obstacles in their way, early leaders aimed for the city to be a place for businesses to prosper and for people to live, work, and play.

After the public voted against the construction of an international airport at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, leaders explored the city’s needs and how the land around the former base could best be used. With a focus on community engagement, leaders worked collaboratively to achieve many of the amenities we have in Lake Forest today.

To hear more of the journey through cityhood, bankruptcy, annexation, the construction of El Toro Road, and much more, make sure to attend the roundtable discussion December 4, from 2 to 5:30 pm at the Civic Center. For more information, click here.

In addition to serving you on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, I'm also proud to serve you on the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Board of Directors.

As such, I'm pleased to report this past year, OCTA, Caltrans District 12 and the cities of Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel have continued working together to deliver the I-5 Freeway Widening Project from SR-73 to El Toro Road, one of our region’s largest freeway improvement projects.

Approved by nearly 70% of Orange County voters, this $580 million project spans 6.5 miles and is being constructed in three segments. Today, the overall project is more than 1/3 finished, with Segment 1 from SR-73 to Oso Parkway and Segment 2 from Oso Parkway to Alicia Parkway each 50% complete.

For more information, including what's down the road ahead, please click here or on the image below.

Click the image above for more information.

I'm pleased to report Orange County residents can now enjoy more reliable and frequent trips on the Amtrak® Pacific Surfliner®.

In late October, the Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency, which manages the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service, implemented one of the largest schedule adjustments for the Pacific Surfliner in years. It included further restoration of service across the corridor as well as sweeping adjustments to existing train schedules.

The improvements enhance the reliability and connectivity of trains that travel between San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Pacific Surfliner trains have been operating on a reduced schedule since March 2020 due to a pandemic-related drop in travel demand. The schedule change builds on the partial service restoration that was implemented in June 2021, and also moves towards pulsed schedules, which evenly distribute trains to provide maximum service coverage.

Changes include:

• One additional round-trip was added that travels the length of the corridor. 
• Most train departure and arrival times were shifted to evenly space them out across the day for more consistent frequencies. Many train numbers changed.
• The schedule is now consistent for both weekday and weekend travel.

Travelers now have predictable departure times between trains, and improved connections to other train services.

Passengers are encouraged to follow safety measures and any important public health orders in place during their trip and at their destination. Per federal law and Amtrak policy, face coverings must still be worn while onboard trains and in stations.

The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passes through Orange County as part of its 351-mile coastal rail route from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. The LOSSAN Agency is managed by OCTA in an agreement with the state. For more information, click here. 

This week, I was deeply saddened to adjourn our Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting in memory of Robert "Bob" Moffett, a longtime and beloved board member of the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts. May he Rest in Peace. For more information, please click on the image below.

Click the image above to enlarge.

This week, I was pleased to present a commendation to my outgoing appointee on the Orange County Campaign Finance and Ethics Commission, Mr. George Saadeh, who has served Orange County with distinction his entire adult life.

After a 30-year career with the Santa Ana Police Department, George volunteered to be part of the inaugural panel of the Campaign Finance and Ethics Commission. His logic and dependable guidance brought about straightforward reporting and consistent transparency from the Office of Campaign Finance and Ethics as well as the Commission. Thank you, George, for all that you have done and do for Orange County.

Presenting a commendation to George Saadeh.

Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) recently passed the last hurdle to complete the annexation of the City of San Juan Capistrano's water utility. To that end, SMWD hosted a reception last week at the City's water utility, where my office was pleased to present commendations to both SMWD and the City in honor of the occasion.

My Community Relations Advisor, Sergio Prince, presents commendations to SMWD President Chuck Gibson (left) and SJC Mayor John Taylor (right). 

The City of San Juan Capistrano and Santa Margarita Water District have a long history of cooperation and mutual aid to benefit the citizens of their South County communities. The annexation of the City’s water utility into the SMWD service area marks a new chapter in service to customers in the City as well as benefits for all SMWD customers.

With federal, state, city, water district elected officials and staff at the SMWD event.

My office was pleased to present a certificate of recognition to Kiddie Academy Educational Child Care in Mission Viejo, where the Chamber of Commerce conducted a ribbon cutting ceremony last week. Everyday, your child's imagination grows and their curiosity gathers momentum, and Kiddie Academy of Mission Viejo empowers and celebrates all of it! Please join me in welcoming Kiddie Academy to the Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce!

My Field Representative, Dawn Kamber, at the ribbon cutting for Kiddie Academy Educational Child Care in Mission Viejo.

The OC Health Care Agency continues to release daily COVID-19 case counts in Orange County. As of today, HCA is reporting 311,397 positive cumulative cases and 5,675 deaths to date, as well as 179 currently hospitalized with 45 in ICU.

My Board colleagues and I approved the launch of the OC Health Care Agency’s (HCA) Vaccine Equity Engagement Program in an effort to accelerate the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, with a continued focus on the most vulnerable high-risk populations in Orange County.

The program provides an opportunity for community members to nominate collaboratives, volunteers and other organizations (especially smaller groups in hard-to-reach communities) for an opportunity to earn a coordination fee of $20 for every individual who receives either their first or second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (with a preferred minimum of 50 individuals registered per event). The program’s $4.5 million in funding is made available from the State of California’s Government Operations Agency.

Through the Vaccine Equity Engagement Program, HCA will oversee the criteria for organizations to host clinics, provide them with public health messaging resources to help them promote their events and communicate the importance of the vaccine to their community members, and collaborate with them on innovative ideas to increase engagement with residents such as donation and gift matching opportunities.

Interested organizations will be able to sign up to participate in this program and host vaccine clinics in partnership with HCA through the Mobile Vaccine Service feature on the Othena platform. Additionally, the Othena platform now offers a new feature for any eligible individual who has scheduled a vaccination appointment to request free roundtrip rides to their appointment. They can now log in to Othena.com or the smartphone app to request a ride to their appointment (residents are encouraged to request rides 3 to 5 days in advance and rides are subject to availability).

To sign up for the Vaccine Engagement Program and host a community clinic, interested organizations can click here.

Individuals looking to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment or complete their second dose can do so by visiting Othena.com or calling the OC COVID-19 Hotline at (714) 834-2000. For additional information on free or discounted rides to vaccination appointments, please visit the Lyft or Uber websites. For more information and resources on the COVID-19 vaccine in Orange County, click here.

The Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) recently launched a new feature on the Othena platform, which streamlines the process for any interested individuals, groups, employers and businesses to request an onsite, mobile COVID-19 vaccination service.

To begin the application process, individuals can visit the Mobile Vaccine Service section of the Othena website or smartphone app and provide the following intake details:

• Name of the organization or group 
• Primary point of contact 
• Estimated number of patients at event (at least 50 preferred)
• Ability to register patients ahead of time
• Ability to supply a climate-controlled location 
• Preferred day(s) of the week

Once the application has been submitted, HCA will assign a dedicated Community Liaison to work directly with the primary point of contact to engage in a collaborative planning process. 

Additionally, the Mobile Vaccine Service feature enables community members who are homebound and meet specific criteria (or their caretakers) to schedule at-home vaccinations. To learn more, please visit Othena.com, call the OC COVID-19 Hotline at (714) 834-2000, or see the flyer below.

Click the image above to enlarge.

Orange County parents and legal guardians of minors ages 12 to 15 can now schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment or walk-in to County of Orange Point-of-Dispensing (POD) sites offering Pfizer. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the Pfizer vaccine’s Emergency Use Authorization to allow administration for 12 to 15-year-olds, following clinical trials that proved it safe for this age group with only non-serious side effects like fatigue and headache.

Subsequently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine safety review panel and the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup recommended that the vaccine is safe and highly effective in protecting this age group against COVID-19. 

Individuals who would like to receive the Pfizer vaccine for themselves or their children ages 12 and older can do so through:

• A Primary Care provider or Pediatrician with whom your children or family is already familiar
• Pharmacies
• Visiting myturn.ca.gov
• Visiting othena.com - If further assistance is needed with selecting a site, scheduling, or arranging for transportation to and from the site, community members can call HCA’s OC COVID-19 Hotline at (714) 834-2000
• Walking-in to a County POD site that is administering the Pfizer vaccine

For more information, click here.

As previously reported, everyone ages 16 and over in Orange County is now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Parental consent is required for youth under 18; however, they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to receive the vaccine. If you have not already done so, be sure to get register with Othena ahead of time to ensure your place in the virtual waiting que.  

People within the eligible groups are strongly encouraged to register now with Othena to receive a vaccination from the County. Once registered, they will be placed in the virtual waiting room with other individuals who are already eligible within the State’s guidelines. Appointments are dependent on vaccine supply. As the County receives more vaccines, more appointments will open in Othena. 

For more information on COVID-19 vaccine resources in Orange County, including this weekend's POD schedule, click here. 

Please be aware that there are more channels of distribution other than the County where people can get a vaccine. For more information on where you can find appointments through other medical providers and local pharmacies, visit vaccinefinder.org.   

Testing continues to be a main priority of our COVID-19 efforts. If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or if your employer is requiring testing as a part of their business reopening plan, the County offers FREE testing to all of our residents. 

There are many options for testing, including our County Super Sites, testing kiosks located at various locations throughout the County (including Laguna Woods, Laguna Niguel, and Mission Viejo in the 5th District), and even at home tests that can be delivered to you and mailed to the lab for processing.

While many of you are at home working or self-isolating and spending more time on the internet, thieves are taking advantage of this situation and coming up with new and innovative ways to separate you from your money. Now is a good time to educate yourself on the various ploys used by scammers for COVID-19.

If you lost a loved one to COVID-19, you may be eligible for a government program that pays for funeral expenses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will pay up to $9,000 for funeral expenses for loved ones who died of COVID-19. Survivors can apply for benefits by contacting FEMA, toll-free, at 844-684-6333. To find out if you qualify, read FEMA’s Funeral Assistance FAQs.

Unfortunately, FEMA reports that scammers are contacting people and pretending to offer to register them for assistance. To avoid those scams, here are some tips:

• FEMA will not contact you until you call or apply for assistance.
• The government won’t ask you to pay anything to get this benefit. 
• Don’t give your own or your deceased loved one’s personal or financial information to anyone who contacts you out of the blue.

If you think you got a scam call, hang up and report it to the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 or the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

A recorded webinar on financial protection of older adults during the COVID pandemic was recently held and is available for on-demand viewing. The webinar included a panel discussion of experts from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Health and Human Services (HHS).

If you are behind on your mortgage, beware of mortgage relief scams. There is free foreclosure help. If anyone tries to charge you in advance for help or guarantees they can stop your foreclosure, they’re not legitimate. The CFPB has information on how you can avoid foreclosure and tips for working with your mortgage servicer. For more information on COVID housing protections and important deadlines, click here.

Challenges COVID-19 has brought include a higher risk of identity theft. In 2020, the FTC received about 1.4 million reports of identity theft, double the number from 2019. Repeatedly, identity thieves targeted government funds earmarked to help people hard hit financially by the pandemic. 

During the pandemic, we’re doing more online – working, connecting with family and friends, shopping, and banking. If something goes wrong with your device, you want to fix it right away. Scammers are preying on this, offering phony tech support services. Here’s what you should know about tech support scams.

Be on the lookout for fake calls, texts, and emails, as scammers are pretending to be Social Security Agency employees. They may threaten you and demand immediate payment to avoid arrest or other legal action. Do not be fooled!

Additionally, a large-scale coronavirus scam has erupted, as impostors are filing claims for unemployment benefits using names of people who have not filed claims. Victims learn about the fraud when they get a notice from their state unemployment benefits office or employer about their supposed application for benefits.

Sadly, people exploiting older adults are often family members or other trusted people who are handling the financial affairs of an incapacitated parent, relative or friend. As such, caregivers and assisted living and nursing facilities can also work together to help protect elderly residents from financial exploitation, both during the pandemic and after life returns to a new normal.

Lastly, if you’re having trouble paying your rent during the coronavirus pandemic, there are relief options and protections available for many renters. Additionally, through the California COVID-19 Rent Relief Program, both income-eligible renters who experienced pandemic related financial hardships, or landlords who experienced income loss due to unpaid rent, are eligible for financial assistance.

As the spread and far reaching impacts of COVID-19 continue to 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 What You Feel is Real webpage.

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’

South OC Cars and Coffee is the world’s largest weekly car show, held every Saturday from 9 AM to 11 AM at Outlets at San Clemente, 101 W Avenida Vista Hermosa, attracting a mix of 1500-3500 plus hyper-cars, supercars, exotics, vintage, classic, muscle and sports cars, hot rods, rat rods, pickups, 4x4s and motorcycles. No registration is required. Spectators are welcome and meet every Saturday, rain or shine! For more information, click here or on the image below.

Click the image above for more information.

I'm pleased to announce the relaunch of the Nutrition Gap Program. Food insecurity continues to be a major challenge for many residents, as people struggle to get back on their feet and keep food on the table. The goal is to satisfy the continued demand for nutritious food and bridge the gap between hunger and the next meal.

The $2 million dollar program is being funded by the America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and is available to residents living in my district. Priority will be given to those experiencing food insecurity due to age/disability, economic status, lack of familial or community support, lack of access to available resources, and those who have military service.

Enrollment is now open and, to make it as easy as possible for people to enroll in the program, we have three options by which they can enroll.

• Online by visiting: https://fdngp.211oc.org/
• Call 2-1-1
• Text their Zip Code to 898211

Program Details:

• Coordinated through the Office on Aging in partnership with 2-1-1 Orange County.
• Provides twice-weekly deliveries, via DoorDash, of restaurant-quality meals directly to participant’s homes.
• Each Monday, participants receive three fresh lunches and three fresh dinners.
• Each Thursday, they receive three fresh lunches, three fresh dinners, one frozen lunch, and one frozen dinner.

Restaurants participating in the program include:

• Ruby’s Diner
• Bella Collina
• Villa Roma
• Bamboo Bistro

For those of you who may have missed any of my previous Fifth District Dispatch newsletters, featuring up-to-date COVID-19 facts and other information pertinent to South County, click here. 

Thank you so much for your outstanding and continuing efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Orange County, as we're all in this together!