News

Excerpted from CalMatters

By Emily Hoeven

At nearly 10 pm on Monday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County due to the region’s largest oil spill in three decades.

Excerpted from Nature World News

By Precious Smith

Fish dead, birds mired in petroleum and wetlands polluted as large amounts of oil spill off the southern California coast. This prompted local officials to call the event an environmental catastrophe.

[...]

A Democratic state assembly member who represents some regions which the spill affected, Cottie Petrie-Norris, said she had "huge concerns" regarding the amount of the damage done to the environment, local economy, and communities.

Excerpted from CBSLA

More than 120,000 gallons of crude oil from an offshore oil rig has leaked into the waters off the OC Coastline in what city officials are calling a potential ecological disaster.

According to the Coast Guard, which reported the incident at 12:18 p.m., the slick was approximately three miles off Newport Beach and 13 square miles in size.

[...]

Excerpted from the Laguna Beach Independent

By Daniel Langhorne

About 400 people turned out to Main Beach in solidarity with a national march supporting women’s reproductive rights on Saturday.

Orange County Sup. Katrina Foley and Assemblymember Cottie Petrie Norris (D-Laguna Beach) were among the elected officials who joined in the protest. They were joined by congressional candidate Harley Rouda.

Excerpted from the Sacramento Bee

By David Lightman and Hannah Wiley

Bills approved before the Legislature ended its 2021 session could mean important changes, some now, some later. Newsom has until October 10 to sign the bills, and his office said Friday it “typically does not comment on pending legislation.”

[...]

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Laguna Beach, said she’s confident “meaningful reforms” made their way through the Legislature this year.

Excerpted from the Orange County Register

By Teri Sforza

Deadly fentanyl infects street drugs. Overdose deaths are skyrocketing. And more treatment is the solution, many say — even as fraud and tragedy continue to plague the private-pay, insurance-money-fattened slice of the addiction treatment industry.

Excerpted from the Orange County Register

By Laylan Connelly

The popular beach pathway running alongside Huntington Beach’s coast is getting a $3.7 million makeover.

City leaders are celebrating the start of the first phase of the Bluff Top Park improvement project, which will make upgrades from 9th Street to Seapoint Street, including on a cliff that overlooks the popular dog beach.

[...]

Excerpted from the Daily Pilot

By Matt Szabo

Some of them are rusting, while others are just falling apart.

Either way, the weathered metal handrails along the bluff tops of Huntington Beach’s coast do not exactly scream “Welcome to Surf City.”

But that will finally change.

City officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Bluff Top Park Improvement Project on Tuesday morning at Patriot Point.

[...]

Excerpted from the Daily Pilot

By Susan Hoffman

A military vehicle paraded north along the Balboa Peninsula on Sunday carrying Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley and 10 Olympic athletes from her district, which includes Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and some of Fountain Valley.

Excerpted from LA Times

By Patrick McGreevy

Alarmed by more than a year of dysfunction and fraud in California’s unemployment benefits system, state lawmakers have sent the governor a raft of bills aimed at fixing the agency that stumbled in helping those left jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic.

[...]