O.C. Registrar welcomes the public to keep an eye on the count as Election Day nears
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Oct. 9. I’m Carol Cormaci bringing you this week’s TimesOC newsletter with a look at some of the latest local news and events.
Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page held a public Zoom seminar last week to say he’s confident his office and 1,900 election season workers are ready to conduct an accurate count of the ballots that are about to be cast in the November general election.
According to the Daily Pilot’s reporting on that meeting, not only will O.C. voters be deciding between Kamala Harris, Donald Trump and lesser known candidates at the very top of the ballot, they’ll also be weighing in on 170 other contests, including the smaller, community-focused races such as those for city council and school board seats. Ten statewide initiatives and 30 local initiatives are also before O.C. residents this election.
According to Page, there are over 1.8 million voters registered in this county, and all of them were sent ballots Monday. This week the county also opened 123 ballot boxes around the region (go to “Current Election Administration Plan” on the Registrar’s website, ocvote.gov to find out where), so if you’ve already made your decisions you can drop your ballots off nearly a month before Election Day. Select locations will open for in-person voting beginning Oct. 26, and the remainder are expected to go live by Nov. 2. They’ll stay open until 8 p.m. Nov. 5.
In a clear sign attitudes about mail-in ballots have changed over the years, Page said about 85% of ballots processed by his office are now received by mail. The county invested $4.1 million after the 2022 midterm election to boost the Registrar’s capacity to process mail-in ballots, he noted, and the expenditure paid off when the primary election was held this year.
For those who worry about people fraudulently participating in the vote, Page explained during the seminar that his office constantly checks its rosters against data from the Postal Service, Secretary of State, Department of Corrections, the Orange County Health Care Agency and other government sources. His staff also use information from credit agencies and other third-party sources to help verify the identities and residences of voters.
Still, there will be some members of the public who don’t trust the process. They are allowed to monitor activities at voting centers and challenge other people’s eligibility vote, although they must provide evidence of fraudulent voting.
Have any doubts about how that ballots will be processed? Page said concerned residents are welcome to observe as votes are tallied at the Registrar’s office, 1300 Grand Ave., Santa Ana.
NEWS
• Two members of the Fountain Valley City Council who are seeking reelection this fall reversed their votes on a second reading of an ordinance last week that would have raised council members’ monthly $500 salaries to $1,200. Mayor Glenn Grandis and Vice Mayor Ted Bui opened the door to a potential compensation increase by voting for it on Sept. 3. But they apparently changed their minds.
• Aliso Viejo Mayor Mike Munzing has been vocal this year in his objection to the Boys & Girls Club of Capistrano Valley over its embrace of the concept of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, TimesOC reported over the weekend. Munzing even took his concerns to the Rancho Santa Margarita City Council when it was considering a one-year extension with the club for services. “This new direction … will only hurt the kids and encourage them to be bitter victims,” he said in emails where he identified as an O.C. GOP Central Committee representative for Rancho Santa Margarita. “Do what’s right for the kids.” Despite his attempt to stop it, the extension was granted.
• James Treadaway, who was the head of Orange County Public Works, quietly left his job weeks after his department was found to have started the devastating Airport fire, The Times reports. The blaze has exposed the county to potential massive legal liability.
• Only a few cities in the state have enacted laws that compel brick-and-mortar businesses to accept cash and now the city of Newport Beach is about to join them, having recently passed an ordinance requiring merchants to allow cash purchases of up to $5,000. The new law is expected to go into effect March 31.
• While many Orange County cities permit residential beekeeping, including Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Fullerton, Santa Ana and Irvine, other cities, like Costa Mesa, have had laws against the practice. But according to another Daily Pilot report, a draft ordinance, albeit one that is heavy with restrictions, was put into place last week that could soon allow beekeeping.
• A federal appeals court late last month demanded immediate enforcement of a California law banning the sale of firearms and ammunition on any state-owned properties, including the Orange County fairgrounds. Operators of the popular Crossroads of the West gun show, which is scheduled to bring a show to the fairgrounds on Nov. 30, are now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn that ruling. OC Fair & Event Center spokeswoman Terry Moore confirmed Friday the show had not been canceled by Crossroads but clarified the sale of guns, ammunition or firearm precursor parts could not take place on the property.
PUBLIC SAFETY & COURTS
• Police this week were searching for suspects who attacked a store clerk and robbed a 7-Eleven in Anaheim early Sunday. Anaheim police officers responded to calls of a street takeover at the intersection of Orange and Knott avenues at about 1:30 a.m., The Times reports. As officers were heading to the scene, they received an additional call of a robbery at the 7-Eleven convenience store at the same intersection. An unknown number of people described as a “mob” were inside the store for about two minutes, ransacked it and assaulted the store clerk, leaving him with a bloody nose, police reported.
• Heavy fog in Huntington Beach not only bogged down the Pacific Airshow for periods over the weekend, but it also was the backdrop for three different motorcycle collisions in roughly a 24-hour period, police told the Daily Pilot. One person died and three were hospitalized following the incidents.
• An SUV traveling on Pacific Coast Highway Monday morning crashed into the wetlands area of Talbert Marsh and became submerged in water, the Daily Pilot reported. Police and lifeguards were able to extricate the driver from the vehicle. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
SPORTS
• Angels and Ducks broadcaster Kent French, his wife Michelle and their daughter, Everly, 7, left Sunday to embark on a yearlong trip exploring various countries around the globe. The San Clemente residents will chronicle their trip on the family’s new web platform Frenchitivity.
• Ducks goalie John Gibson, 31, who underwent an emergency appendectomy in late September, was expected to sit out a few weeks while recuperating. “Gibson has spent most of the past decade as the Ducks’ top goalie, going 193-206-61 with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in an NHL career spent entirely in Anaheim,” The Times reports. The regular season opens Saturday when the Ducks play the Sharks in San Jose.
• A former Corona del Mar High School football player who sustained a traumatic brain injury after slipping on the school’s uneven field in 2021 sued Newport-Mesa Unified School District — a battle that lasted two years — and settled for $31 million, his attorney announced last week.
• Newport Harbor High School’s boys’ water polo team on Saturday took all comers at the prestigious Elite Eight tournament in Studio City, beating host Harvard-Westlake 16-7 in the final for the Sailors’ second title in three years. Harvard-Westlake edged JSerra 11-10 in the other Elite Eight semifinal match. JSerra rebounded to top Oaks Christian 13-9 in the third-place match.
LIFE & LEISURE
• Casa Romantica in San Clemente held a ribbon-cutting event Friday for its main salon, which was reopened after millions of dollars in repair to the center, which suffered as the result of a landslide in spring 2023. “It’s such a huge milestone to have it reopen,” Kylie Travis, co-executive director of Casa Romantica’s nonprofit, told TimesOC. “Things can only get better from here. Our team is prepared and ready for that.”
• Laguna Beach fireworks aficionados have reason to applaud their City Council, which decided its experiment this past Fourth of July with a costly drone show (for environmental reasons) was just not quite as stirring as the old-fashioned, booming displays. So the council members agreed last week they will bring back a fireworks show next summer.
CALENDAR THIS
• The Philharmonic Society of Orange County opens its 71st season Friday, Oct. 11, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and world-renowned violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja under the baton of principal conductor Edward Gardner at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Ticket prices start at $41 and are available at the Philharmonic Society box office at (949) 553-2422 or online at philharmonicsociety.org.
• UC Irvine’s Langson Institute and Museum of California Art has a new exhibit, “End of the Range: Charlotte Skinner in the Eastern Sierra,” which presents 31 of Skinner’s paintings as well as related works. The museum is currently located in an interim space at 18881 Von Karman Ave., Suite 100, and open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are free. The exhibit runs through Jan. 18.
• The Irvine Ranch Conservancy is offering a Full Moon Hike on Hicks Haul Road from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16. This hike is geared for beginners (the minimum age is 12) and for “anyone wanting to experience a spooky full moon,” organizers say. Reservations are required and can be made at the link above.
• VEA Newport Beach will host a fall harvest event on Sunday, Oct. 20, from noon to 4 p.m. on its Riviera Lawn. There will be a pumpkin patch, seasonal refreshments, cookie decorating for kids, lawn games, photo opportunities and more. Open to both resort guests and the community at large; no reservations are required. VEA Newport Beach is located at 900 Newport Center Drive.
Until next Wednesday!
Best,
Carol
KEEP IN TOUCH
I appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C. (photos welcome!) or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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