Exploring the book called ‘How to Forage for Wild Food Without Dying’

• October 21, 2023

After recently writing here about Esperanza (Tecoma stans), a plant that flowers virtually non-stop with golden yellow, gramophone-shaped blooms, I received an email mentioning that, according to one report, this species is highly toxic to pets and people. 

Upon closer examination of the literature on this subject, the evidence is not conclusive as to Esperanza’s toxicity. Still, I would not recommend eating any part of any plant that you are not entirely sure about; check with an expert to ensure that it’s edible. As for pet cats and dogs, I would not allow them to consume any plant, including those eaten by us, since these are carnivorous animals and vegetation of any kind should not be part of their diet.

Addressing the dilemma of plants that look good enough to eat, but shouldn’t be eaten, “How to Forage for Wild Food Without Dying” (Storey Publishing, 2023), by Ellen Zachos, forays into the recent craze of foraging. Whether it’s the movement to simplify our lives by relying more on mother nature for our sustenance, or merely an interest in saving money on groceries, foraging has more adherents every day. Yet the author issues this warning at the outset: “Never put anything in your mouth that you’re not 100 percent sure what it is.” Exactly.

You don’t have to go into the wild to forage, however. Many of our common weeds, including dandelion, pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), and lamb’s quarter (Chenopodium album) have edible foliage. The only caveat is that the foliage of these three plants should not be consumed in large quantities due to the oxalates they contain. Yet spinach, chard, endive, and French sorrel are also rich in oxalates and so caution is advised in their consumption as well.

I learned from this book that flowers of our two most widely planted magnolia species are edible and “ginger, cardamom, and clove” are among the flavors that may be experienced when chewing on the flowers of these trees. The species in question are bull magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), an evergreen possessing huge white flowers and leathery sea-green leaves with cinnamon undersides, and saucer or tulip magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana), a deciduous tree that blooms in late winter with pink to purplish to burgundy flowers  

If you have an oak tree in your backyard, consider it a free source of nutty flour for baking purposes. Acorn flour is coming into favor as a comestible product of sustainable gardens and landscapes since oak trees yield abundant crops yet require no inputs of water or fertilizer. Whether driving north as you approach Santa Clarita or west on the way to Thousand Oaks, the dominant tree on the hills is coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), an evergreen. However, another oak native to this same area, although less commonly seen, is the deciduous valley oak (Quercus lobata), whose acorns are meatier than those of coast live oak. 

First, check that you’re following the proper safety guidelines and know that you have edible acorns in hand. If you have done your safety check, the first step in turning acorns into flour is to remove their shells with a rubber mallet; place the acorns in the folds of a towel before striking them. After you have the acorn meats separated from their shells, cold leaching to remove tannins is recommended. You may have to repeat this cold water treatment three or four times – tasting the acorns after each treatment – until bitterness caused by their tannins disappears. You can leach acorns in hot water, too. However, hot water removes acorn gluten so, in this case, you will have to combine regular flour with your acorn flour for baking purposes. Once your acorn meats have been leached, pound them with a mortar and pestle or grind them with a coffee bean grinder until they turn to flour from which you can make acorn pancakes, for example, for breakfast.

Banana yucca (Yucca baccata) is another California native that is worth foraging, and it is a candidate for garden growing as well. The fruit is sweet and a mature plant yields dozens of them, but to be fully enjoyed they are best frozen and then roasted. Yucca moths that pollinate yucca flowers lay eggs that hatch into larvae which feed on the fruit before tunneling through, dropping to the ground, and spinning their cocoons. So your harvested fresh fruit is likely to contain larvae, yet when you freeze it, the larvae burrow out of it before they die, leaving the worm-free fruit behind. Having killed the larvae, you still have an issue with the multitude of seeds found in each fruit. Roast the fruit at 400 degrees for 30 minutes to soften it, slice it in two, and strip out the seeds before you indulge in the sweet pulpy treat. Yucca baccata flowers are edible too.

California native of the week: Although I have never planted a redwood tree and don’t have enough room to do it justice on my lot, I have long been searching for the ground cover that grows in California’s redwood forests. It’s called redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) and, in the words of Carol Bornstein in her book “California Native Plants for the Garden,” it possesses “tenacious character.” It’s “a plant that will thrive in mature gardens with deep shade and plenty of root competition from established trees.” It is one of the few species that will grow under oaks and pines as well as redwoods. Three-leaflet leaves have the appearance of clover although individual leaflets are heart-shaped. Redwood sorrel grows four to eight inches tall and carries one-inch flowers in white or pink during the spring. Stems and leaf undersides are burgundy. This plant is native to northern California and will not grow in the desert. It is most suited to coastal climates but I think it would grow in shady spots in the greater Los Angeles area. If anyone knows where this plant or its seeds are available from local or online vendors, please advise.

If you have foraged successfully and have a wild plant or two to recommend, please send your experience to [email protected]. Your questions and comments regarding any gardening practice or problem, as well as your photos (taken horizontally for possible publication) are always welcome.

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​ Orange County Register 

Groundswell’s “Shaping Tomorrow” free anti-hate webinar series starts Oct. 25

• October 21, 2023

Groundswell, the new name for the OC Human Relations Council, is hosting a new nine-part series of free webinars to help combat hate speech, racism and more by talking about it.

At the first community webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 25, organizers will discuss addressing racial slurs in schools. The online event begins at 6 p.m.

In 2022, 27% of reported hate crimes and incidents took place at schools, according to the latest Orange County Hate Crimes Report. The county saw 450 hate crimes and incidents last year, with more than half of those “motivated by race, ethnicity or national origin bias,” according to the report.

Other topics in the virtual series include understanding DEI, different levels of racism, de-escalating conflict, exploring implicit biases, and combating toxic masculinity.

The series will run monthly until July 2024. Each webinar will be recorded and available for viewing up to a week after airing.

Groundswell organizers issued a statement “urging vigilance and care” after the Oct. 14 death of Illinois Palestinian American boy Wadea Al-Fayoume, who was killed in what police determined a hate crime.

Marginalized communities “continue to be harmed with misinformation and political rhetoric,” the Oct. 19 statement read. “We want to share resources to better prepare our communities against hate and bigotry… Violence only leads to more violence and diminishes the possibilities of dialogue and reconciliation.”

As part of Groundswell’s services and trainings, officials said to be on the lookout for upcoming hate prevention programs.

To report a hate incident, you can fill out a form online at hatecrime.211oc.org, email [email protected], call 2-1-1 and press #6, or text OCHATEACTIVITY to 898211 to receive a direct link.

For more information and to register for the “Shaping Tomorrow” series, visit wearegroundswell.org/shaping-tomorrow-series.

Related links

Muslims come together in Orange County to mourn boy stabbed to death in Illinois
Hate crime in Orange County ‘on a steady incline,’ annual report says
OC Jews, Palestinians mourn those killed following surprise Hamas attack
California leaders encourage people to report amid rise in hate crimes, and pledge support to victims
‘White lives matter’ rally goers are vastly outnumbered in Huntington Beach
Bystander training guides Asian communities on how to safely intervene when attacks arise

​ Orange County Register 

Will rate cuts rescue Orange County’s homebuying slump?

• October 21, 2023

Can falling mortgage rates – whenever that happens – revive homebuying in Orange County?

Let’s first look at the lethargic sales pace. In the 12 months ending in August, just 28,981 Orange County homes sold, according to CoreLogic data. That’s 42% below the homebuying pace of two years earlier.

This drop is linked to drastically falling affordability in the pandemic era.

The county’s median price in August hit $1.09 million – the highest ever – and is up 45% since February 2020. Meanwhile, mortgage rates soared to 7.1% from 3.5%. A typical OC buyer saw house payments surge 117% to $5,839 monthly, assuming a 20% down payment.

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed how homebuying moved against big rate swings dating back to 1988. This 416-month span was sliced into thirds – ranking the results by one-year moves in the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate from Freddie Mac.

We contrasted the periods when rates surged the fastest vs. times when they tumbled the most. Both groupings averaged 1 percentage-point moves over 35 years.

The swings

Ponder how OC homebuying gyrates during these rate-swing extremes.

Let’s start with pricing. When mortgage rates were in their steepest jumps, home values in OC averaged 8.5% one-year gains.

Yet when mortgage rates were in their steepest drops, median home prices in OC saw 2.3% gains.

By the way, the local median price has appreciated 5.1% since 1988. So cheaper financing for house hunters could mean softer pricing, too.

REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER: Get our free ‘Home Stretch’ by email. SUBSCRIBE HERE!

And falling rates modestly boosted the OC homebuying pace, historically speaking.

Sales gained an average of 4.4% in the 12-month periods with the largest rate drops.

When rates increased rapidly, however, the pace of closed transactions fell – averaging 7.9% one-year losses.

The secret sauce

There’s a catch to lower rates – housing’s three magic words: “Jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Rates are usually rising when the overall economy is strong – even too strong – and hiring is plentiful. Remember, you need a solid paycheck to be a successful house hunter.

Yet rates tend to dip when the economy is sour, and that’s not a great backdrop for a major purchase such as a home. So, let’s peek at California’s job market since 1988.

When rates surged over the past 35 years, California employment grew at a 2.7%-a-year pace. But jobs shrank at a 0.7% annual pace when rates tumbled.

Bottom line

This isn’t just some housing quirk for Orange County. Falling rates come with pricing weakness in many places.

Across the six-county Southern California region, the sharpest rate jumps were in step with 8% average one-year price gains. The largest rate drops came with 2% average price gains.

And nationally, soaring rates meant an average 7.5% one-year gain in the Case-Shiller US index vs. 2% appreciation when rates were cascading.

History is not a forecast. And maybe it’ll be different this time. But 35 years is a good guide to what’s possible.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

Leaving California?

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What state is the best bargain?

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​ Orange County Register 

Master Gardener: When pineapples are ripe and ways to protect figs

• October 21, 2023

Q. We have been growing pineapple plants from cut-off tops for about 15 years and have harvested about 6 in that time. Could you please tell me how to tell when the fruit is ripe and ready to cut from the plant?

Growing pineapples from the part of the fruit that usually ends up being discarded is a fun project that I used to do with my kids. We never were lucky enough to get any flowers or fruit, though.

Pineapple, a member of the bromeliad family, grows well in zones 11 and 12 (Hawaii). In Southern California, they can be grown in a sheltered spot outside or inside where they can get at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. They can grow to be quite large – 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide – so make sure you plan for that. They grow best at temperatures between 68 and 84 degrees. At temperatures higher than 90 or lower than 60 degrees, they will stop growing and may show their displeasure in other ways.

If you can keep it happy for 1 ½ or 2 years, it will form a flower spike from the main stem. These flowers are self-fertile and will form berries that fuse together to form the familiar blocky fruit.

Once the bottom third of the fruit turns yellow, it should be ready to harvest. Other signs of readiness include flattening of the berries and formation of “eyes” and, of course, that wonderful smell!

Q. I covered my fig tree from top to bottom with bird netting, however, some night creature keeps eating my ripe or nearly ripe figs. What could it be and how can I protect my fruit?

Figs are super attractive to all types of birds, so the netting is not a bad idea. Unfortunately, other creatures of the night will show up and help themselves once they discover your tree.

Opossums, raccoons, rats, and mice all like to feast on the soft fruit and can climb the tree to get it. Motion-activated sprinklers may deter the opossums and raccoons, but the rats and mice are too small to set them off. Depending on your situation, an electric fence may work (there are electric fences that can be set up temporarily, then taken down after the fruit is harvested.)

Trapping mice and rats can be a never-ending task since there’s a never-ending supply of rodents.

I’ve found that the only way to save my figs is to harvest them when they’re not quite ripe, wrap them in tissue paper (to protect them from bruising), and allow them to ripen on my kitchen counter for a day or two.

Los Angeles County

[email protected]; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

[email protected]; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

[email protected]; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

[email protected]; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

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​ Orange County Register 

Ballots mailed out in Santa Ana recall election

• October 21, 2023

Santa Ana residents in Ward 3, the north and northeastern part of the city, are receiving their mail-in ballots and voter guides for a recall measure asking if Councilmember Jessie Lopez should be removed from office.

The recall effort gathered enough signatures earlier this year to force the public vote; Ward 3 voters now have until Nov. 14 to cast their ballot.

Lopez’s term ends in November 2024. If she is recalled, it would be up to the City Council to appoint someone to finish the term, or they could call another special election to fill the seat.

The recall effort, led by the Santa Ana Police Officers Association, accuses Lopez of “defunding the police” and supporting “destructive policies that have encouraged landlords to raise rents,” according to its statement in support that is included with the voter guide. It also lists her opposition to a 2021 ordinance targeting street racing and support of an “outrageous hike” to fees charged housing developers.

“The Police Officers Association, yes, has been at the forefront, but they’re not the only people that are behind this. There’s a lot of grassroots people that are behind this recall. The issues are not just about the police,” Tim Rush, chair of the recall effort, said. “She’s completely out of sync with her ward, along with, I think, a majority of people in the city.”

Rush said the recall effort against Lopez is driven by her stance on issues such as rent control, public safety and police funding.

“I would just encourage people to think carefully and to make their selection,” Rush said. “You need to stop and ask, ‘What has Jesse done for our ward? What has she done?’ And the reality, is she’s she’s done next to nothing.”

Lopez, who voted in favor of rent control and establishing a police oversight commission, said that from the very beginning of her term there have been unjust expectations placed on her for being a young woman of color.

“I don’t come from a political dynasty. I wasn’t supported by any party. I didn’t receive any developer money. I grew up in a working class household,” Lopez said. “They thought, ‘How is this young Latina going to add anything of value?’ And I think we’ve been able to prove a lot of people wrong and defy some of those very negative stereotypes.”

Having grown up in Santa Ana, Lopez said she ran for City Council because of frustrations that the voices of her community were not being heard by the city leaders.

“I was always told growing up that if I had any grievances that there was a process in place for me to follow, which was come to the council and let your voice be heard. And we learned very early on that in this city that was not the case. Our voice was not going to be respected,” Lopez said. “That’s really why it was so important for for me, and so many people that supported me in 2020, to give this a try, because we knew that no matter how much research we presented to the council, how many community members came to the council, we did not have people out there that were 100% invested in seeing our community flourish in an equitable way for all Santa Ana families.”

Some of her highlights as a member of the council, she says, have been her work in getting pubic streets repaired, ensuring sidewalks are ADA compliant, adding amenities to public parks and adding more street lights for the safety of the public.

“Even when the council said there was no money, my job is to go and find it. And I did that for our residents,” Lopez said. “That was based on many conversations that we had with the neighborhood and what they wanted to see.”

Both Lopez and Rush encouraged residents to participate in this special election.

Rush said voters should ask what Lopez has done for their ward. The answer, he says, is close to nothing.

“Ward 3 residents need to decide if they want special interests to continue running their city,” Lopez said. “Or if they want people that were born and raised in the city that know it very well, that understand all of the complexities and the needs of their community to help make those policies that will impact Santa Ana families in a much better way.”

Voting centers will open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 4-10; from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 11-13; and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 14, at the OC Health Care Agency’s Public Health Learning Center, 1729 W. 17th St., and at the OC Registrar of Voters, 1300 S. Grand Ave.

Secure ballot dropboxes are also available for walk-up at the OC Health Care Agency center, for drive-thru at the Orangewood Foundation, and for walk-up and drive-thru at the OC Registrar of Voters. The ballot drop boxes are open 24/7 until 8 p.m. Nov. 14. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 14 and received within seven days.

More information on the voting guide and options can be found at santa-ana.org/elections.

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​ Orange County Register 

Californians who vote with their feet

• October 21, 2023

Between 2020 and 2022, Los Angeles lost nearly 2% of its population. While San Francisco’s exodus of 7.5% was even worse, these cities are not alone. People have also been fleeing San Jose, Long Beach and Oakland. It is not just that people are leaving the state; where they are fleeing to is also of note.

Based on IRS data, about one-half of the Californians migrating to other states moved to just five – Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Florida.

What do these states have in common?  Four of these states do not levy an income tax at all. The other, Arizona, levies a 2.5% flat income tax. Compared to our 13.3% top rate, these ex-Californians, who earned nearly 40% more than the average Golden State household, are saving lots of money.

People are clearly leaving California because of bad public policy choices.  The state’s roads are poorly maintained. The cost of living is unaffordable. The streets are unsafe, the homelessness problem continues to fester, and economic opportunities are becoming scarcer.

These results are consistent with the new Pacific Research Institute Free Cities index that I authored ranking the 50 largest cities, whether a city promotes pro-growth policies has a huge impact on where people decide to live and where businesses decide to invest.

Los Angeles ranked second-worst on the list for pro-growth cities, while Long Beach ranked fifth-worst in the country.  California had three of the worst five cities on the list, with Oakland ranking last.

The study groups the 50 largest cities based on the latest population trends.  There are 17 cities whose populations have declined by more than 1% between 2020 and 2022 (which we call declining cities), 19 cities whose population change was between a 1% decline and a 1% increase (called stagnant cities) and 14 cities whose population grew by more than 1% (called growth cities).

There are important lessons in these three categories for California policymakers.

First, consistent with California’s exodus, declining cities impose high state and local marginal income tax rates (averaging 9%), while growth cities levy a more affordable tax burden (averaging 3%). The tax burden in the stagnant cities averaged 5.5%. Cities and states with high income tax rates discourage individual entrepreneurs from starting a new small business and they deter larger employers from expanding existing businesses and creating jobs compared to the lower-taxed cities.

Declining cities also overburden average families with a higher combined sales, income and property tax burden. The average burden from these taxes is over 22% higher in the declining cities compared to the growth cities. Not surprisingly, the tax burden in California’s cities was among the highest.

Many Californians would be willing to pay a higher tax burden if it meant having a higher quality of life, great schools, and superior public services. But the opposite is true. On a host of issues ranging from affordability to regulations, declining cities have the most anti-growth policy environments while growth cities have policy environments that encourage growth and quality of life.

California’s elected officials should learn from these troubling trends.  If they paid attention, they’d see that high taxes, poor services, and anti-growth policies drive businesses, jobs, and people away.  By adopting policies that make cities more affordable and attractive, they will actually encourage businesses to locate there and expand, and create jobs and tax revenue.

Historically, California’s cities have been important drivers of nationwide economic prosperity and technological innovation. They have fostered cutting edge scientific breakthroughs and invigorated artistic expression. Without healthy population trends, California’s cities will fail in their efforts to serve these vital roles.

Between 2020 and 2022, Los Angeles lost nearly 2% of its population. While San Francisco’s exodus of 7.5% was even worse, these cities are not alone. People have also been fleeing San Jose, Long Beach and Oakland. It is not just that people are leaving the state; where they are fleeing to is also of note.

Based on IRS data, about one-half of the Californians migrating to other states moved to just five – Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Florida.

What do these states have in common?  Four of these states do not levy an income tax at all. The other, Arizona, levies a 2.5% flat income tax. Compared to our 13.3% top rate, these ex-Californians, who earned nearly 40% more than the average Golden State household, are saving lots of money.

People are clearly leaving California because of bad public policy choices.  The state’s roads are poorly maintained. The cost of living is unaffordable. The streets are unsafe, the homelessness problem continues to fester, and economic opportunities are becoming scarcer.

These results are consistent with the new Pacific Research Institute Free Cities index that I authored ranking the 50 largest cities, whether a city promotes pro-growth policies has a huge impact on where people decide to live and where businesses decide to invest.

Los Angeles ranked second-worst on the list for pro-growth cities, while Long Beach ranked fifth-worst in the country.  California had three of the worst five cities on the list, with Oakland ranking last.

The study groups the 50 largest cities based on the latest population trends.  There are 17 cities whose populations have declined by more than 1% between 2020 and 2022 (which we call declining cities), 19 cities whose population change was between a 1% decline and a 1% increase (called stagnant cities) and 14 cities whose population grew by more than 1% (called growth cities).

There are important lessons in these three categories for California policymakers.

First, consistent with California’s exodus, declining cities impose high state and local marginal income tax rates (averaging 9%), while growth cities levy a more affordable tax burden (averaging 3%). The tax burden in the stagnant cities averaged 5.5%. Cities and states with high income tax rates discourage individual entrepreneurs from starting a new small business and they deter larger employers from expanding existing businesses and creating jobs compared to the lower-taxed cities.

Declining cities also overburden average families with a higher combined sales, income and property tax burden. The average burden from these taxes is over 22% higher in the declining cities compared to the growth cities. Not surprisingly, the tax burden in California’s cities was among the highest.

Many Californians would be willing to pay a higher tax burden if it meant having a higher quality of life, great schools, and superior public services. But the opposite is true. On a host of issues ranging from affordability to regulations, declining cities have the most anti-growth policy environments while growth cities have policy environments that encourage growth and quality of life.

California’s elected officials should learn from these troubling trends.  If they paid attention, they’d see that high taxes, poor services, and anti-growth policies drive businesses, jobs, and people away.  By adopting policies that make cities more affordable and attractive, they will actually encourage businesses to locate there and expand, and create jobs and tax revenue.

Historically, California’s cities have been important drivers of nationwide economic prosperity and technological innovation. They have fostered cutting edge scientific breakthroughs and invigorated artistic expression. Without healthy population trends, California’s cities will fail in their efforts to serve these vital roles.

Reversing California’s troubling outmigration trend requires local policy leaders to establish policy environments that reward entrepreneurship, keep taxes low, make it easy to start or expand a business and create jobs, and provide core public services at efficient costs.

Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D. is a senior fellow in Business and Economics at the Pacific Research Institute. His latest study, The Free Cities Index, is available at www.pacificresearch.org 

​ Orange County Register 

California’s Top Two primary system denies voters a real choice

• October 21, 2023

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Will California voters get a choice between parties for the U.S. Senate election on Nov. 5, 2024? They didn’t in two of the last three Senate elections, when it was only Democrats on the ballots.

In 2018 the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein survived a challenge by Los Angeles Councilmember Kevin DeLeon, recently disgraced from racist comments at a meeting. In 2016, it was Attorney General Kamala Harris, now the vice president, defeating Rep. Loretta Sanchez. 

The culprit is one of the worst initiatives ever, the Top Two system instituted when voters passed Proposition 14 in 2010. Under it, a “jungle primary” is held in a battle of all against all. Then the top two, regardless of party, or no party, rise to the November runoff.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, hoodwinked voters into thinking it would advance “moderates” like him from both parties. As recently as 2017, Politico reported he was stirring “buzz” he might run for the Senate in 2018. He didn’t.

But instead of moderation, Top Two gave us only liberal Democrats in those two races. And although the California GOP certainly has wounded itself often enough, not having candidates in these crucial, statewide races of national import kept it out of the public eye.

With global and domestic crises boiling over, next year’s race is vital. Ballotpedia currently lists 37 hopefuls for the job. They include 16 Democrats, the top ones being Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. And 13 Republicans, the two most prominent being Eric Early, an attorney, and Steve Garvey, whose website so far largely features pictures of him during his Dodgers playing career.

Then there’s Sen. Laphonza Butler, whom Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed to complete the remainder of Feinstein’s term. Butler has until Dec. 8 to decide if she runs in the primary. My guess is she well. The Senate is the world’s most exclusive club after the College of Cardinals in Rome.

So far, the top three Democrats have engaged in two debates and, most recently on Oct. 15, the AFSCME California PEOPLE Forum at Loews Coronado Bay Resort. Their views weren’t all that different.

I wondered if future debates would include any Republicans. Calls and emails to all three Democratic campaigns were not answered. Someone from the California Democratic Party got back to me and said she would check, then crickets. Garvey’s campaign also didn’t get back to me.

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Early quickly replied to my call to his campaign. “They won’t invite me for whatever reason, and it’s not good because I absolutely should be part of these debates,” he told me, as his chihuahua chirped in the background. “You know they’re in dreamland the other side. They are just approaching it and their media allies are approaching it as if, oh, it’s just an automatic Democrats are going to win the Senate.” He said denying him and other Republicans places on stage is “to try and skew it so only two Democrats remain on the top. But I have a very good chance of ending up in the top two.”

Fred Whitaker is the chairman of the Orange County Republican Party. “I like the idea of a debate,” he told me. “We are working with all the Senate candidates to see if they are willing to come to Orange County to speak to the Central Committee.” Of that, Early said, “Absolutely I’ll be there.”

Finally, Republicans should make passing an initiative repealing Top Two their top priority. It clearly is hurting them, making it harder to get out their message. They still can do it for the Nov. 5, 2024 election as the signature filing deadline is next June 27. Call it the Restore California Democracy initiative.

Top Two is a wound in democracy and needs to be repealed. If Republicans don’t do that quickly, they might as well all move to Florida.

John Seiler is on the SCNG Editorial Board and blogs at: johnseiler.substack.com  

​ Orange County Register 

New compliance audit for OC Go sales tax funds welcome news for taxpayers

• October 21, 2023

At the October 9th Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors meeting, the board voted unanimously to fund my request, taken up initially through the Measure M2 Taxpayer Oversight Committee (TOC) for a compliance audit of Measure M2 spending. Working collaboratively together with the OCTA Board of Directors, members of the TOC, and OCTA staff, we achieved a victory for Measure M transparency, and for Orange County taxpayers.

When Measure M (now known as OC Go) was originally passed by the voters in 1990, it’s language included strong safeguards to help protect the half-cent sales tax that you pay for transportation improvements here in Orange County. 

OC Go is expected to generate a total of nearly $15 billion through 2041 to maintain and improve Orange County’s transportation network.

Initially a 20-year tax with limited bonding authority, Measure M (and then extended an additional 30 years with Measure M2) included language requiring the creation of an independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee (TOC) specifically “for the purpose of overseeing compliance with the measure.” This compliance purpose is further explained “to ensure that all voter mandates are carried out as required.” As Orange County’s independently elected Auditor-Controller, one of my roles is to serve as the chair of the TOC. I am dedicated to my commitment to serving the County of Orange and its taxpayers seriously. This compliance audit will allow me and the TOC to annually certify voter mandates are met with confidence by relying on an outside auditor’s opinion. 

In reading the language of the current Measure M2 as a Certified Public Accountant, I found that the audit safeguards in place as approved by the voters were not as clearly defined. While the measure states an “annual independent audit” should be conducted, it didn’t specifically state which type of audit is to be conducted.

There are many types of audits. For this situation, when measuring compliance, the gold standard of audits is intuitively – a compliance audit, which ensures an organization or fund complies with the rules, regulations, and laws of the region, state, or country it operates. More simply put – this compliance audit corresponds with the Committee’s sole purpose of compliance and provides the kind of transparency you should expect when literally billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent.

Before you get concerned that perhaps before now there has not been any audits performed, since its inception, the Measure M fund has had a financial statement audit performed each year, ensuring that the measure’s financial statements are materially correct.  Although a financial statement audit has many great benefits, a compliance audit has a different scope and is a needed, additional effort to ensure our hard-earned tax dollars are being spent appropriately in accordance with the measure’s requirements.

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It is worth mentioning that performing a compliance audit comes at an expense, as you can imagine. But the drafters of Measure M2 had this in mind, and a portion of funds raised by the sales tax are dedicated for this very type of auditing expenditure.  

OC Go has been and continues to be a great success and Orange County has the best road conditions in the region.  Our county’s traffic flow is the envy of our county neighbors.  We should be proud that the half cent sales tax we have been paying for nearly 30 years has paid great dividends.  This compliance audit will ensure that this spending is in line with what was approved by the voters. 

Rest assured that, along with the other members of the TOC, and I am sure the entire OCTA Board will be closely monitoring the compliance audit as it takes place and look forward to the opportunity to share the results of it with you when it is done. Ensuring our hard-earned tax dollars are spent correctly is crucial, and even more so in today’s economy, every cent counts…even a half-cent. 

Andrew N. Hamilton is Orange County’s elected Auditor-Controller. Hamilton has been a Certified Public Accountant for 27 years.

​ Orange County Register