As the Weekly reported last week, many OC residents were shocked to discover that Ashley Bemis swindled $11 thousand from good Samaritans in the wake of the Holy Fire. According to Carrie Braun, a spokesperson for the OC Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), Bemis created a fake husband named Shane Goodman who Bemis claimed was battling the […]
Environment
SoCal Conservatives List Proposed “Noxious” Veto-Worthy California Laws
Calling the state legislatures current session in Sacramento “over-the-top with noxious legislation,” Orange County-produced The FlashReport this month published a list of the “Top 20” proposed new state laws conservatives view contemptuously. The list is the work of state Senator John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) and assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore), both known in their political circles […]
“Surfing Beyond the California Beach Babe Cliché” Screening, Exhibit and Talk
On Wednesday Sept. 19th, further destruction of misconceptions about women surfers around the globe will take place at the historic cottage on Calafia in San Clemente. “Surfing Beyond the California Beach Babe Cliché” will be equal parts film screening, photo exhibit, reception and conversation. Organizers expect the discussion to extend from myth-busting to Southern California and Baja, […]
Liar, Liar in the Holy Fire Allegedly Faked Marriage, Swindled $11 Thousand
The national media has had a field day in the six days since the OC Register broke the news of how a 28-year-old San Clemente resident named Ashley Bemis fabricated a fake husband to swindle people out of $11 thousand worth of supplies in the wake of the Holy Fire. The media frenzy is both […]
Offshore Oil Drilling Foes Seek to Educate (and Track) Rohrabacher, Walters and Issa
Representatives Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), Mimi Walters (R-Irvine) and Darrell Issa (R-Vista) are among four members of Congress from the Orange County delegation who have not taken a position on new oil drilling off the California coast, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Well, at least they have not officially, such as in […]
UPDATE: The Stink of Surf City, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana is Not Bug Spray
UPDATE, AUG. 17, 12:50 P.M.: The cities of Santa Ana and Costa Mesa have released statements informing residents that the source of the odor was not spraying by OC Vector Control. The vector control district released a statement of its own: “The Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District has not conducted an aerial spraying and […]
Coastal Commission Fines Laguna Beach Couple $1 Million, Orders Seawall Removal
The California Coastal Commission recently fined a Laguna Beach couple $1 million for rebuilding their ocean-front home without a permit. Jeff and Tracy Katz were also ordered to remove a seawall that damaged the public Victoria Beach, according to a Coastal Commission media release. Weichert Realtors of Newport Beach previously had the three-bedroom, 4.5-bath Katz […]
PETA Calls for Animal Cruelty Charges Against Holy Fire Arson Suspect
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling for animal cruelty counts to be added to the criminal charges against Holy Fire arson suspect Forrest Gordon Clark. The 51-year-old, who appeared in the jail courtroom today after refusing to come out of his cell the day before, is currently charged with one felony […]
Poseidon Saga Continues: OCWD Votes 6-2 To Approve New Project Term Sheet
Last Wednesday, the Orange County Water District (OCWD) Board of Directors voted 6-2 to adopt a new term sheet that amends Poseidon’s proposed desalination project in Huntington Beach. The new contract terms only go into effect, however, if Poseidon receives the permits necessary from the Regional Water Quality Control Board in the fourth quarter of […]
Saturday Checklist: Clean Huntington Beach, Write Letters, Protest Desalination Plant
Orange County Coastkeeper and other clean-water lovers gather for a Huntington State Beach cleanup Saturday morning, but they will be doing more than filling trash bags with cigarette butts, plastic water bottles and Styrofoam bits that fish confuse for lunch. “The event begins with a beach cleanup,” a Coastkeeper tells the Weekly, “and then it […]
CALPERS CEO and Sen. John Moorlach to Talk Socially Conscious Pension Investing
John Moorlach and Marcie Frost are not running against one another for office, but they are poised to take different sides on a public policy issue they will discuss Thursday in Huntington Beach. Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) is the state senator for the 37th district that stretches from Huntington Beach south to Three Arch Bay and […]
CEMEX USA and Clean-Water Advocates Reach Pollution-Fighting Agreement
The CEMEX USA building materials company has essentially agreed to clean up its act in Orange County and elsewhere in Southern California to settle a dispute with regional clean-water advocacy groups. Orange County Coastkeeper and Los Angeles Waterkeeper filed a complaint in early 2017 that claimed stormwater from CEMEX facilities in Irvine, Compton and Fontana […]
CalTrans’ Laguna Canyon Road Project Flummoxes Laguna Canyon Foundation
As Liam Blume just reported in the Weekly, Orange County’s most controversial road remains the proposed extension of the 241 toll road into San Clemente–but gaining fast is the proposed $39 million expansion and extension of the 133, a.k.a. Laguna Canyon Road. CalTrans is proposing widening the 133 at El Toro Road, extending the second […]
Hoag, Edwards Lifesciences Are Bully on Irvine Exploring Community Choice Energy
Any of you residential utility ratepayers remember several years back, when we were allowed to “purchase” our power from someone other than Southern California Edison? And did any of you, like me, choose to go with a company that invested in renewable energy like wind and solar? And did any of you, like me, start […]
Toll Road-ed: Will OC Soon Be Forced To Pay For Yet Another Useless Toll Road?
Ahh, the toll roads. On par with the haunted school bus of Black Star Canyon, they exist as one of Orange County’s greatest mysteries. Why would elected officials fight for the construction of an expensive transit project that their constituents despise? Currently, the Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA)–the quasi-government agency charged with building the toll road–has […]
OCWD Votes To Postpone Decision On Poseidon’s New Term Sheet
Things have been quiet on the Poseidon front since the State Lands Commission hearing last October—until last Wednesday, that is. On June 6, the Orange County Water District (OCWD) Board of Directors held a meeting to discuss and vote on whether to adopt new terms of agreement regarding the proposed $1 billion desalination plant. It […]
Surfrider’s ‘Protect and Enjoy’ Photo Contest Has a Subtext: Drilling is Killing!
The Surfrider Foundation creates awareness of environmental threats to our waterways with clever photo contests. To rise up against plastics, “Found Objects” asks contestants to collect the colorful crap at the beach, arrange it, photograph the collection, then post the image online along with six words that sum up the eco-art. That contest will happen […]
This Week in Clean Beaches: Hands Across the Sand, Eelgrass Beds, Kids Ocean Day
They held hands on the beach in February, and they will again on Saturday. No, this is not a reference to lovey-dovey couples out for strolls on the sand but demonstrators who prefer clean-energy solutions to dirty-fuel excavation and distribution fouling coastal Orange County and elsewhere. For instance, Saturday marks the three-year anniversary of […]
Russian Doll Billboard with Putin, Trump, Rohrabacher and Baugh is Unveiled Today
UPDATE, MAY 18, 9:05 A.M.: The following arrived in my inbox this morning: This statement is incorrect: “Baugh, the former state assemblyman … is currently a fan of “Calexit,” the California version of Brexit. The U.K. strategy involves pulling out of the European Union, while Calexit would break California into up to six distinct states.” […]
Prepare to be Overwhelmed by the 2018 Chevy Bolt Premier (Part 2)
WRITER’S NOTE: This is part two of the Ride Me vehicle-review column featuring the 2018 Chevy Bolt EV Premier. Click here to read part one, “To Live and Die in the Arizona Desert in a 2018 Chevy Bolt EV Premier.” Having just tested a performance brand’s electric car that costs $10,000 more, I was expecting […]
2018 BMW i3s Electric Car Looks Even Better Thanks to SoCal Edison
When Southern California Edison informed me about a new energy reducing partnership through BMW, which is offering the power company’s employees and residential customers discounts on the purchase of new i3 and i3s electric cars, I asked the next logical question. “Hey, SCE, do you suppose your new BMW buddies would let me test drive […]
