A 
NEW VOICE 
FOR ORANGE COUNTY
68-Year Old Asian Man Arrested For Fatal Shooting At Taiwanese Congregation in Laguna Woods
1 Dead, 5 Wounded In Shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church In Laguna Woods
May 14: Opening Celebration of Large Mammal Exhibit At OC Zoo
What’s the Fastest Way to Cede Local Control to Sacramento? Ask the Housing Industry.
NewsPublic Safety
68-Year Old Asian Man Arrested For Fatal Shooting At Taiwanese Congregation in Laguna Woods
The Orange County Sheriff's Department has identified 68-year-old David Chou, from Las Vegas, as the alleged shooter who killed one person and wounded five others...
NewsPublic Safety
1 Dead, 5 Wounded In Shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church In Laguna Woods
One person is and 5 are wounded in a shooting that took place in the early afternoon today at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods....
NewsQuality of Life
May 14: Opening Celebration of Large Mammal Exhibit At OC Zoo
The OC Zoo at Irvine Regional Park is holding an opening celebration of its new Large Mammal Exhibit. The celebration ran today from 10:00 a.m....
Local News
68-Year Old Asian Man Arrested For Fatal Shooting At Taiwanese Congregation in Laguna Woods
68-Year Old Asian Man Arrested For Fatal Shooting At Taiwanese Congregation in Laguna Woods
The Orange County Sheriff's Department has identified 68-year-old David Chou, from Las Vegas, as the alleged shooter who killed one person and wounded five others in a shooting attack yesterday...
1 Dead, 5 Wounded In Shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church In Laguna Woods
1 Dead, 5 Wounded In Shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church In Laguna Woods
One person is and 5 are wounded in a shooting that took place in the early afternoon today at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods. The shooter was apprehended by...
May 14: Opening Celebration of Large Mammal Exhibit At OC Zoo
May 14: Opening Celebration of Large Mammal Exhibit At OC Zoo
The OC Zoo at Irvine Regional Park is holding an opening celebration of its new Large Mammal Exhibit. The celebration ran today from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and continues...
What’s the Fastest Way to Cede Local Control to Sacramento? Ask the Housing Industry.
What’s the Fastest Way to Cede Local Control to Sacramento? Ask the Housing Industry.
“We are all for ‘Local Control’ until the locals get out of control,” was a mantra I heard for years working with various advocacy organizations – and it rings true...
In a recent social media post, Santa Ana Mayor Vincent Sarmiento told residents that “Serious Crime Down in Santa Ana” – despite the fact the city is experiencing a huge surge in the number of murders – a 43% spike in 2021. So far this year, 21 people have been murdered in Santa Ana, up from 15 murders in 2020 and 14 murders in 2019. It makes one wonder what Mayor Sarmiento considers to be a “serious crime.” If not murder, then what? The Santa Ana Police Department’s most recent Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report Stats Monthly July 2021 shows 13 homicides as of July 2021. There have been an additional eight homicides as of December 2021. What changed in Santa Ana from 2020 to 2021? Anti-police/Black Lives Matters protests, a “defund the police” movement and an election that dramatically changed the political/policy make-up of the city council. Elections, as they say, have consequences. Read The Full Story: https://ocindependent.com/2022/01/editorial-santa-ana-mayor-sarmiento-isnt-serious-about-serious-crime/
YouTube Video UExudDl4dE8ydUhYNkEtbko5Ym1xOS1OYzE1SWVGb096aC5GNjNDRDREMDQxOThCMDQ2
The Critical Race Theory juggernaut moving through our schools can be beaten. In the Anaheim Union High School District, last July the School Board approved $80,000 to hire a progressive advocacy group, the Center for Racial Justice in Education, to inculcate teachers and students in Critical Race Theory at Katella and Cypress high schools. CRT is a type of Cultural Marxism that divides different ethnic groups against one another, spawning hate. However, writer Matthew Cunningham published a series of articles in the Anaheim Independent and OC Independent, with more in the works based, on e-mails obtained via the California Public Records Act. It’s not clear exactly when or why the AUHSD abandoned the CRJE program. At publication time, neither the district nor the AUSHD has responded to our requests for an explanation. But the Independent filed a California Public Record Act request about the contract. Read The Full Story: https://ocindependent.com/2022/01/public-scrutiny-beats-critical-race-theory-in-anaheim/
YouTube Video UExudDl4dE8ydUhYNkEtbko5Ym1xOS1OYzE1SWVGb096aC4xMkVGQjNCMUM1N0RFNEUx
Senator Dave Min, a left-wing Democrat and former university law professor, wants to separate the Board of Education and county superintendent elections, keeping the county superintendent on the primary ballot while moving the Board contests to the November general election. He is trying to do so over the objections of at least four of the five members of the OC Board of Education, who call his SB 286 a transparently political attempt to facilitate replacing the current board majority with members who will hew to teacher union opposition to charter schools. “He has never once come and talked to us or communicated with us,” said OCBE member Tim Shaw. “Everything has been done to us and not with us. He is clearly after us.” Read The Full Story: https://ocindependent.com/2022/01/progressive-state-senator-takes-aim-at-pro-charter-school-oc-board-of-education/
YouTube Video UExudDl4dE8ydUhYNkEtbko5Ym1xOS1OYzE1SWVGb096aC41MzJCQjBCNDIyRkJDN0VD
Call it “Correaflation.” Because blame for higher prices has to go to those who caused it. Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, just tweeted, “Today’s inflation data shows the U.S. consumer price rose by 7% over the past year. We must work to bring inflation down. My constituents cannot afford to pay for necessities as food and gas with increased prices.” But Correa voted for every dollar of the trillions in federal spending binges driving inflation, such as $1.9 trillion for the misnamed American Rescue Act – which should have been called the Waste and Inflation Act. And he wants even more. In December, he voted for President Biden’s $2 trillion Build Back Better bill of unprecedented additional waste – and better named Build Back Broker. But it’s really worse. The Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates the real cost would be $4.9 trillion. – more than double the announced number. Read The Full Story: https://ocindependent.com/2022/01/rep-lou-correa-complains-about-the-inflation-he-voted-for/
YouTube Video UExudDl4dE8ydUhYNkEtbko5Ym1xOS1OYzE1SWVGb096aC5DQUNERDQ2NkIzRUQxNTY1
Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana is looking for a new start with President Mike Brennan, who will take over on Feb. 1. The school has been embroiled in hazing scandals involving its champion sports teams, especially football. Brennan will take over from the current president, Father Walter E. Jenkins, who has been in the job only since July. The scandals include a November lawsuit that, according to the OC Register, “accused Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange of trying to cover up a brutal locker-room altercation that left the player with a traumatic brain injury.” After that, the Diocese of Orange, which oversees the school, hired Van Dermyden Makus, an investigations law firm, to find out what happened. Read The Full Story: https://ocindependent.com/2022/01/new-mater-dei-president-mike-brennan-gives-troubled-school-new-start/
YouTube Video UExudDl4dE8ydUhYNkEtbko5Ym1xOS1OYzE1SWVGb096aC45NDk1REZENzhEMzU5MDQz
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Quality of Life

Public Safety, Housing & Homelessness
News
May 14: Opening Celebration of Large Mammal Exhibit At OC Zoo
May 14: Opening Celebration of Large Mammal Exhibit At OC Zoo
News
May 13: Weir Canyon Hike To Overlook Trail
May 13: Weir Canyon Hike To Overlook Trail
News
OCTA Board Approves $26 Million For Street Widenings, Traffic Light Synchronization
OCTA Board Approves $26 Million For Street Widenings, Traffic Light Synchronization
News
St. Joseph Hospital Receives Anonymous $53 Million Donation
St. Joseph Hospital Receives Anonymous $53 Million Donation

Education

Education
AUHSD Board of Education Gives 7% Raise To Superintendent And 3.5% Raise To Themselves
AUHSD Board of Education Gives 7% Raise To Superintendent And 3.5% Raise To Themselves
Education
Attorney General OK’s Lawsuit Seeking Beckie Gomez Ouster From OC Board of Education
Attorney General OK’s Lawsuit Seeking Beckie Gomez Ouster From OC Board of Education
Education
Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton College Join Disney’s Aspire Tuition Program For Cast Members
Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton College Join Disney’s Aspire Tuition Program For Cast Members
Education
Yorba Linda HS Tagged With “PYLUSD Is Racist” Graffiti Two Days In A Row, In Apparent Reaction To CRT Ban
Yorba Linda HS Tagged With “PYLUSD Is Racist” Graffiti Two Days In A Row, In Apparent Reaction To CRT Ban

Opinion

News
Just How Independent Is This Pro-Sarmiento Independent Expenditure Committee?
Just How Independent Is This Pro-Sarmiento Independent Expenditure Committee?
Education
O’Neill: Don’t Blame Falling Enrollment On Pandemic
O’Neill: Don’t Blame Falling Enrollment On Pandemic
Opinion
O’Neill: Sacto Mass Shooting More Evidence Of How Prop. 57 Undermines Public Safety
O’Neill: Sacto Mass Shooting More Evidence Of How Prop. 57 Undermines Public Safety
Homelessness
O’Neill: Throwing Money At Homelessness Isn’t Working
O’Neill: Throwing Money At Homelessness Isn’t Working

A NEW VOICE FOR ORANGE COUNTY

Featured Guest Articles
O’Neill: The State Of Emergency Is Tyrannical. End It.
O’Neill: The State Of Emergency Is Tyrannical. End It.
It Should Be “Game Over” For Newsom’s State of Emergency
It Should Be “Game Over” For Newsom’s State of Emergency
Newport Beach Fire Medics Program A Great Deal For Residents
Newport Beach Fire Medics Program A Great Deal For Residents
New Affordable Housing Project In Irvine
New Affordable Housing Project In Irvine
Single Payer Jabs Socialism Into California Healthcare
Single Payer Jabs Socialism Into California Healthcare
Popular Publications
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68-Year Old Asian Man Arrested For Fatal Shooting At Taiwanese Congregation in Laguna Woods
68-Year Old Asian Man Arrested For Fatal Shooting At Taiwanese Congregation in Laguna Woods
News
1 Dead, 5 Wounded In Shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church In Laguna Woods
1 Dead, 5 Wounded In Shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church In Laguna Woods
News
May 14: Opening Celebration of Large Mammal Exhibit At OC Zoo
May 14: Opening Celebration of Large Mammal Exhibit At OC Zoo
Housing
What’s the Fastest Way to Cede Local Control to Sacramento? Ask the Housing Industry.
What’s the Fastest Way to Cede Local Control to Sacramento? Ask the Housing Industry.
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The OC Independent is dedicated to providing factual, informative reporting on Orange County government, politics, education and quality of life issues such as homelessness and access to housing. We seek to illuminate aspects of issues, movements and trends that receive little or no attention from more established, mainstream outlets. Our editorial philosophy is grounded in the principles of the American Founding: limited government, federalism, the separation of powers and equality before the law as indispensable to securing our liberties. The opinions and stances articulated in OC Independent editorials flow from those principles, and are grounded in facts.