Santa Ana River

5 Best Orange County Places Based on State Pollution and Demographic Data

The state EPA's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has an online mapping tool that allows Californians to see a detailed report card for the places they frequent. A "pollution burden score," which is based on 11 environmental-quality measurements, is combined with demographic indicator ... More >>

Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo, Alleged Serial Killer of 6, Has Death-Penalty Trial Pushed to May 2014

The trial of suspected serial killer Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo likely will not begin until May 2014.While the 25-year-old Yorba Linda man accused of fatally stabbing a mother, her adult son and four homeless men has a Nov. 1 court date, his attorneys asked an Orange County Superior Court judge today fo ... More >>

The Kizh-Gabrieleño Factor

Despite a centuries-long campaign by Southern Californians to eradicate them, OC's remaining Gabrieleños are making a comeback

Weird Beard Joel: Why You Shouldn't Flush Poop!

At one time, people drank out of almost any stream in OC. No filter was required! They also pooped outside. This was when tribal people, grizzlies, steelhead trout, condors, pronghorn, and wolves populated the coastal bluffs, valleys, foothills, and mountains of California. Toilets, modern plumbing ... More >>

[UPDATED with Charges:] Michael Vito Urso, OC Homicide No. 26: Alexandre Louis Antal Held in Stabbing

See update No. 3 at end of this post about the murder charge against Alexandre Louis Antal.See update No. 2 about Antal being arrested for the murder of Michael Vito Urso.See update No. 1 about the victim's name being released. ORIGINAL POST, JULY 17, 8:25 A.M.: Just after midnight, Huntington ... More >>

3 OC Beaches Ranked Among Cleanest in U.S. by NRDC, But Dirty Doheny Gets Spanked Again

Three Orange County beaches are among the cleanest of 200 popular beaches around the country, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).However, the NRDC's "Testing the Waters" survey also identified three separate stretches of Doheny State Beach in Dana Point as be ... More >>

Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo, Accused Serial Killer of Orange Countians, to Face Death Penalty

The death penalty will be sought against Yorba Linda 24-year-old Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo, the accused serial killer of four homeless men and a mother and grown son fatally stabbed etween October 25 and January 13, prosecutors announced today.Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas convened a ... More >>

The OCeeker: Holy Family Cathedral and the Finger-Lickin' Liturgy

Now that's how a church service ought to be done. Shuffle the people in, grace 'em over with some rote righteousness, and shuffle 'em out.If you've got 15 minutes, Holy Family Cathedral in Orange has a heapin' helpin' of forgiveness. The OCeeker took a smoke break on Friday afternoon and headed ove ... More >>

Santa Ana Sucker Legal Allies Finalized

​Just to be clear, the Santa Ana sucker is NOT a skinny young thing who works Harbor Boulevard. Or, more accurately, the Santa Ana sucker for the purposes of this post is not a tireless working gal/guy.The Santa Ana sucker referenced here is the algae-eating fish whose Santa Ana River habitat prot ... More >>

[UPDATED with $5,000 Reward Paid:] Itzcoatl Ocampo, Troubled Former Marine, Accused Orange County Serial Killer

​UPDATE, JAN. 25, 10:58 A.M.: Before the arrest of Itzcoatl Ocampo, the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of a serial killer preying on homeless men. Union president Tom Dominguez is scheduled to hand Donny ... More >>

10 Revelations in Case Against Itzcoatl Ocampo, Orange County's Accused Serial Killer

​Accused Orange County serial killer Itzcoatl Ocampo appeared at his arraignment this morning but entered no plea to charges that could bring the death penalty as the hearing was postponed until Feb. 17. Given the amount of media heat generated, it's difficult to fathom anything new coming from th ... More >>

Itzcoatl Ocampo Escapes Death Penalty Enhancement . . . Temporarily

​Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announced this morning that a suspected serial killer will face four special circumstance murder counts but his office has not yet determined if it will seek the death penalty against Itzcoatl Ocampo.At a press conference loaded with reporters, Rack ... More >>

Paulus Cornelius Smit, OC 2011 Homicide No. 70: Third Homeless Man Slain in 2 Weeks

​The body of a homeless man was found near a puddle of blood at the base of a Yorba Linda Public Library stairwell Friday evening, and Brea Police homicide investigators believe 57-year-old Paulus Cornelius Smit was murdered.Cops were called out to a 5 p.m. report of a man down in an area behind t ... More >>

Brunch a Bunch Across OC!

OC's best brunches: The ethnic, the gorgeous views and the bottomless booze!

'Photo Environment': Ecologically Sound

The uncluttered exhibition at Orange Coast College gives some stunning images their due

You Can't Fool Mother Nature: A Talk with Photographer George Katzenberger

Courtesy George KatzenbergerProtected Species​As Billie Holiday sang the blues over the Starbucks speakers, I paged through a box of George Katzenberger's serene landscape photos as he sat next to me, sharing anecdotes about the individual pictures.Shot in Infrared (IR), the photos are hallucinat ... More >>

"BoardHeads" Meet Homeboys in HB

A homeboy shares the stoke in BoardHeads.​Homeboy Industries, whose mission is to take former gang members off the streets and show them there is more to life than gang-bangin', brought young men and women from Los Angeles to Huntington Beach last summer for surf lessons.

Remembering the Great Flood of 1938, Donald Duck Style

Kind of like the editorial cartoon, except it was an old-school Donald, with a fatter bottom and bigger bill...​One more storm to go, and Southern California has largely weathered what we'd consider monsoon weather but Floridians would laugh off as a sprinkle. Maybe we worry because of the history ... More >>

Wax On, Wax Off: First Glimpses of Fall Conditions

By Nolan HallOffshore Conditions in Baja​The Santa Ana Winds and the hottest weather of the year are already showing up this year, even as early as late August. It brings back memories of last year, coughing and surfing ash-covered waves under dark, smoky skies. Early Santa Anas bring that haunted ... More >>

What You Missed: Black Eyed Peas, Powerhouse, That OTHER Dog Beach

Keith MayNot a crook.​What'd you do this weekend? Was it as short as ours? Thought so. Photographer Keith May continued his exploration of Orange County this weekend. This time he brings us that "OTHER" dog beach--it has no name, no leash rules, no cops and is relatively unknown. This dog beach si ... More >>

Disneyland Women's Triathlon Lacks Water

Photo by Rick Kent An Amy Poehler look-alike crosses the finish line at the Trek Women Triathlon in Austin, Texas, where she had to get wet first.The caps are their's as the Trek Women Triathlon Series bills itself as "the ONLY women's triathlon series CREATED BY WOMEN, RUN BY WOMEN, EXCLUSIV ... More >>

New OC History Book Gets Great Flood of 1938 Death Toll Wrong Twice, But That's Okay

Court Strikes Blow Against Prosecutors in Gang War

In an opinion issued today, a California Court of Appeal ruled that Orange County prosecutors overstepped their authority to seek tough penalties against hoodlums who violate court-imposed anti-gang injunctions. In January 2007, Sixto Moreno and Anthony Lopez—two Santa Nita gang members—drank b ... More >>

Tuesday's Headlines & Surprises: Rohrabacher Joins ACLU?

Dana Adopts ACLUish Torture Position! At an Oct. 12 rally, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Skipped Vietnam Combat Duty) repeatedly blasted solitary prison confinement. “Long periods of solitary confinement are considered torture,” Rohrabacher said to a tiny Huntington Beach crowd that looked st ... More >>

Scott Weaver

The renaissance man shares some of his favorite things

Grub Guide

The county's best damn dining guide

Commie Girl

Che Who? Social justice at the Nixon Library

Who'll Stop The Rain?

It's one of those things you're liable to hear whenever the rain starts pelting down: "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." It's one of the few lines of Mark Twain's that just about everybody can quote. Two problems: first, it's not a Twain quote; second, it's not t ... More >>

Santa Ana

The Dead

This Week in Booze Barns

Best of OC 2004: Part 3

The Doctor Is In The Water

The Junk in Our Trunk

The Register misreads science in order to score political points

Diary of a Mad County

Diary of a Mad County

3BD 3BA Underwater

A Newport Beach builder could put you in something spacious, lovely andif a dam breaksunder 15 feet of water

Diary of a Mad County

Indiana Jones and the Throbbing Temples of Doom

Blitzkrieg Development

Irvine Co. deploys its troops on eastern border, prepares for war with city of Orange!

Hell on Wheels

Driving in OC, in your own words

Weenie Roast

Letters

Swamp Land in Orange

How officials okayed a plan to turn flood land into hot real estate

When the Levee Broke

How a boy reporter stopped a flood with a letter

Letters

Highway Robbery - Toll Roads

OCs toll roads were supposed to be the model for our transportation future. Now they look like road kill

Guilty Pleasures

1201-1299

Guilty Pleasures

1-100

Summer of Sam

Smoke on the Water