The budget of Orange County’s toll road agency has weathered the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic to its ridership and revenue, but some of its critics worry as its debt payment obligations grow what will the lasting effects be for the Transportation Corridor Agencies.

Fullerton will very likely swear in its first Korean American City Council member in decades after the November elections – just a few years after the city began its transition to electing leaders by districts to give Asian Americans and Latinos more of an opportunity to have a voice in local government.

The president of the Orange County branch of the NAACP is calling on SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union – the largest financial institution based in Orange County – to diversify its Board of Directors, which does not have any persons of color in its 13-member makeup.

During these crazy times, days can blend in with one another. But Rachel Carlsen on Thursday, Aug. 13, had a day she won’t forget when she captured the images of a rare cloud pattern while walking on a trail near her house in Ladera Ranch.

Small and mid-sized cities in Orange County are lobbying state and federal legislators for more funding, saying the money they’ve received from the first federal coronavirus rescue package is not enough, especially compared to bigger cities such as Anaheim and Santa Ana.

A 101-unit luxury senior apartment complex could replace the Vic Braden Tennis College, one of the institutions that put Coto de Caza on the map in the 1970s, under a development proposal that will soon go to the Orange County Planning Commission.

The Orange Police Department is the latest law enforcement agency in Orange County to get body cameras for its officers. Some 110 body cameras are expected to be delivered and put into use as early as the end of August, although the coronavirus pandemic may delay the delivery, said Orange police Sgt. Phil McMullin.

Though Orange County’s toll road agency announced in March an agreement with other transportation agencies to drop planning for an extension of the 241 Toll Road through San Clemente, city leaders continue to seek a court ruling to settle the toll road’s future. This month, as a response, the Transportation Corridor Agencies’ Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency board approved spending another $600,000 to defend itself in the three-year-old lawsuit. The TCA has reached an agreement

Getting a haircut at the Daniel Michael Salon in San Juan Capistrano nowadays looks a lot different. Customers sit in a chair outside under a large canopy, an outdoor cooler stationed on the concrete sidewalk offering a cooling breeze.

The Orange County Transportation Authority is adding four additional sheriff’s deputies and a sergeant to patrol its buses and facilities such as railways and transit centers, as officials say more staff is needed for homeless outreach and improving the safety of passengers and bus drivers.

Bob Ziebell, a longtime Fullerton News-Tribune editor who chronicled the city’s goings-on for decades, died on Tuesday, July 7. He was 85 years old. For his friends at Fullerton Elks Lodge #1993, where Ziebell was a member of for 27 years, Ziebell was funny, gracious and welcoming. For his former colleagues at the News-Tribune, Ziebell was an editor with an encyclopedic knowledge of Fullerton, a sharp eye for details and a kind heart.

If Fullerton voters agree in November, the city expects a $25 million infusion to the city’s coffers from the addition of a local sales tax, funding that could help it, among other needs, get a handle on its inventory of deteriorating streets and infrastructure. City officials are also looking at easing restrictions on cannabis businesses, from dispensaries to manufacturing facilities, to add future additional sources of revenue and help efforts to clamp down on the illicit market in town, offi

Old Towne Orange looks a little different this week, with outdoor tables, patio umbrellas and grassy carpet greeting diners and shoppers on Glassell Street where cars streamed by just days ago. The city blocked Glassell from Maple Avenue to Almond Avenue off to vehicles starting Wednesday, July 8, to create more opportunities for outdoor dining and shopping.

An expanded berm prevented flooding in Newport Beach on Saturday night after Friday’s high-tide deluge, city officials said. The berm, quickly assembled on Saturday, had sand piled “significantly higher and wider” than the one the waves wrecked the night before, said Newport Beach spokesman John Pope. The towering waves turned streets in the Balboa Peninsula into lakes and muddy messes on Friday night. On Sunday morning, the waves continued to put on a show and drew dozens to the Wedge.

Mission Viejo is delaying its plan to implement cumulative voting until 2022, citing continued opposition from the office of the California Secretary of State, which says state law doesn’t allow it in the city. Voters in November will cast a ballot for two seats, reelecting or replacing Mayor Brian Goodell and Councilwoman Trish Kelley who were elected in 2016. Terms for three council members – Wendy Bucknum, Greg Raths and Ed Sachs – will last until 2022.

Organizers have officially canceled the 2020 Orange International Street Fair that was scheduled for Labor Day weekend, saying they’re unable to get the necessary permits due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, organizers are planning an online event to help raise $250,000 for 50 nonprofits that had registered for this year’s event, which has traditionally served as one of the biggest fundraising opportunities for those organizations.

Orange County’s toll road agency should focus on paying off its bonds and ending its operations – perhaps possible even more than a decade before its planned date in 2053 – the county’s grand jury said in a report published on Monday, June 29. “The (Transportation Corridor Agencies) clearly has the mission to operate the toll roads and pay off the bonds, but beyond that, any additional planning and activities could be considered out of its legislatively authorized scope of activity since the to

Middle and high school students at Orange County’s largest school district will likely not return to campus full-time when classes resume in the fall. Instead, some 26,700 students of Capistrano Unified School District will likely have two options: learn remotely full-time or attend classes on campus two and a half days a week, with the rest of their instruction done online.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated. More than 1,300 students and alumni – including Golden State Warriors player Klay Thompson – have signed a letter sent to Santa Margarita Catholic High School administrators demanding they do better at addressing racism and discrimination on the private Rancho Santa Margarita school’s campus.

Studio 18 Nail Bar in Tustin opened with some surprise visitors on Friday, June 19: drummers and lion dancers. Many Vietnamese Americans believe the lion dance brings good luck and fortune, exactly what Studio 18 and its owner, Christie Nguyen, could use as she reopened her business for the first time in three months.