OC firefighter amasses crazy overtime pay

• October 11, 2023

As wildfires raged across California, state residents rightly appreciated the tough work state and local firefighters performed. In the aftermath of the latest fire season, fire officials and union representatives complained about having insufficient firefighting resources. As one news report explained, these agencies say they are “stretched to the limit.”

Yet few officials – including politicians from both parties – want to discuss one of the key reasons California struggles to keep a lid on seasonal wildfires: the oversized pay and benefit packages of existing unionized firefighters. Their unions point to the relatively low base pay earned by some firefighters to detract attention, but occasionally a news item brings the shocking pay and benefit numbers into view.

Last week, the Orange County Register’s Teri Sforza reported on an Orange County Fire Authority firefighter who earned $290,000 in overtime last year. Combined with salary and generous benefits, his total compensation topped $526,000. Amazingly, that’s lower than the overtime earned by some other California firefighters. (Keep in mind California’s inmate firefighters earn only a few dollars a day.)

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The Transparent California database shows such taxpayer-funded generosity is no aberration. We count 44 Orange County firefighters who in 2022 earned compensation packages above $400,000. Much of this includes overtime, but firefighter schedules – including paid time while on call sleeping – are set up in a way to maximize OT payouts. The taxpayer-backed unfunded portions of their pensions aren’t even included in these tabulations, by the way.

Such high costs are causing something known as “crowd out” – the pay packages crowd out funding for other public services. The pay and soaring overtime also are creating pressure for higher taxes at the local level. These inexplicable pay levels aren’t needed given the long lines that ensue whenever there’s a vacant firefighter position.

Meanwhile, big-spending, union-friendly politicians have been trying to further boost these pay packages. Assembly member Heath Flora, R-Modesto, authored a bill, Assembly Bill 1254, that would have given state firefighters automatic raises in perpetuity, but it fortunately died in committee. No wonder California taxpayers are also “stretched to the limit.”

​ Orange County Register 

Disneyland rolls out new pumpkin-shaped Cinderella carriage for $180,000 fairy tale weddings

• October 11, 2023

A ride in a new Cinderella-inspired pumpkin-shaped royal coach during a fairy tale wedding in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle will cost the father of the bride about $5,000 — but that’s chump change when you’re dropping $180,000 on a Disneyland wedding.

The new Cinderella Platinum Coach joins a fleet of royal carriages available for couples who spring for the wedding of a lifetime at the Anaheim theme park, according to Disney Weddings.

Disneyland has not yet announced a price for the Cinderella Platinum Coach or a date when the new royal coach will be available to rent.

Disney Weddings rents the current Crystal Coach for $4,500 per ceremony, according to the Married at Disneyland website. That’s more than twice as much as the $1,900 brides spend on average for a wedding dress, according to The Knot.

SEE ALSO: Pixar’s ‘Turning Red’ boy band 4*Town is coming to Disneyland — but for what?

The newest Disneyland wedding carriage pays tribute to Disney’s 1950 “Cinderella” animated film and the magical pumpkin coach that transported the servant-turned-princess to and from the Royal Ball.

The new Cinderella Platinum Coach — which can be used exclusively by marrying couples arriving to and departing from their Disneyland wedding ceremony — takes its platinum name from the Disney100 celebration of the company’s 100th anniversary.

Concept art of the new Cinderella Platinum Coach coming to Disneyland for Disney Weddings. (Courtesy of Disney)

Disney designers looked to real-life royal carriages for proportional, decorative and structural details and studied 18th century Rococo designs to evoke an era of royal elegance with the new wedding carriage.

The new royal coach joins a fleet of Disney Weddings royal carriages that include the Crystal Coach and vis-a-vis carriages.

SEE ALSO: 20 loudest Disneyland rides and 20 noisiest shows — with decibel readings

The existing Crystal Coach features a ribbed glass carriage in the shape of a pumpkin with sweeping navy blue suspension and ivy-covered wheels.

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The new Cinderella Platinum Coach looks a little bigger with an open-air gold-trimmed carriage festooned and brocade upholstery with elegant scrollwork and dangling lanterns atop a white curved suspension perch and wheels. The new horse-drawn carriage is accompanied by a driver and two footmen in full fairy tale regalia.

Disneyland weddings start at $15,000 and quickly climb above $100,000 for perks like symphony string trios, fanfare trumpeters and Mad Hatter cakes. An appearance by Mickey and Minnie during your nuptials will set you back $1,700, according to This Fairy Tale Life.

The ultimate Disneyland wedding package costs at least $180,000 for a Sleeping Beauty Castle ceremony with a King Arthur Carrousel pre-reception or Small World Mall reception, according to This Fairy Tale Life. In-park weddings take place before Disneyland opens or after the park closes.

​ Orange County Register 

CSUF project traces the history of Black business in Orange County

• October 11, 2023

By Nicole Gregory, contributing writer

Jamila Moore Pewu, assistant professor of digital humanities and new media in history, is working with students on a groundbreaking project that traces Orange County’s Black businesses and their history.

It all began when Natalie Graham at The Institute of Black Intellectual Innovation reached out to Pewu in 2021, suggesting that she might work with the institute to develop a mapping project to show Black businesses in the county.

“But because I come from the standpoint of really looking at placemaking, both historically and in the present, I was like, ‘Well, we can’t really understand where the businesses are today, and why they’re here today, and in what context they’re here unless we understand historically what had been here,’ ” said Pewu, who is a digital historian and previously worked at the Museum of African American history in Boston.

Pewu leads many digital humanities initiatives in the CSUF history department and is the director for the Mapping Arts OC project — a digital map of public art and underrepresented artists in Orange County.

Pewu decided to engage her students in the research project, which they called #Networked OC, to document the past, present and future of Black-owned businesses and community organizations in Orange County. They quickly discovered that traditional methods of research don’t often apply to Black history.

“When they started this project, students were used to going to the usual sources. They went to the library, to the archives, to the databases. And they kept coming back saying, ‘There’s nothing. I can’t find anything,’ ” Pewu said. “And that is very much the case — there isn’t much in the usual archive that tells you about Black Orange County.”

So they began collecting their own data. “We started off doing interviews with current business owners,” Pewu explained. “Then we did some historical research looking at census records. And in the spring, the 1950 census was released in full, where we could track people right down to the city block that they lived on.”

The project investigates the progress and history of Black-owned businesses in Orange County. (Courtesy of CSUF News Media Services)

They looked at the Little Texas community in Santa Ana, “the hub of Black business and Black community in that period,” Pewu said. Her students are creating a 3D map of the area to visualize what residents’ lives were like at that time.

Students also delved into oral histories taken earlier at Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Oral and Public History.

“We had these loose strands of data from my predecessors in the History Department, such as Lawrence de Graaf and others, who studied Black suburbia with a particular focus on Orange County,” Pewu said. “What I try and do is take in all of those stories, and then look for the data to help us understand it,” she said.

They found that “historically, the business communities were growing out of the community organizations,” Pewu said. “And people were finding alliances and opportunities to connect socially, and then going into business, or then supporting one another’s businesses,” she said.

Black-owned businesses don’t often get venture capital funding. “They don’t get a lot of bank loans,” Pewu said. “So, people end up funding a lot of their business from their own pockets.”

This means their businesses are more vulnerable during sudden shifts in the economy, such as during the pandemic. Additionally, Black people are disproportionately unhoused and arrested in Orange County.

The Black population in Orange County is 2% of the total 3 million population, and Pewu and her students discovered many connections among the people they reached out to for interviews.

“We have a three-pronged approach to the oral history, which is interviewing Black-owned businesses, interviewing Black-serving community organizations, and interviewing longtime residents,” Pewu said.

Interviewing Black people has to be done with sensitivity, she said. “One of the things that is true of many communities of color — and OC’s Black community is no different —  is that if you’re going to approach people, and you want them to tell their story, you have to have your stuff together because they’re so used to people coming in with these grand ideas, and talking about them, or to them, but not really coming alongside,” she said.

“And so, it’s just really important that our approach be different, and that we don’t create a project that is a burden to the community. We’ve taken a much slower approach to building relationships versus going really all-in just collecting data.”

Pewu said that the project also actively supports and advocates for Black businesses — some have been hired as vendors for campus events.

“This is a big deal because CSUF doesn’t currently have any Black-owned businesses on their pre-approved vendor list,” she said. As the project continues, she said, “Our goal is to create a Black-owned sound map that integrates our current business data set with oral interviews so that people can begin to connect with businesses through the stories they tell about themselves.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Anaheim residents, business leaders weigh in on Disneyland theme park expansion at workshop

• October 11, 2023

Anaheim residents and business leaders piled into City Hall Monday night to give the city’s Planning Commission early feedback on the Disneyland Resort’s expansion proposal.

While ostensibly the Monday commission meeting was a workshop focused on the DisneylandForward plan’s 17,000-page environmental impact report, many residents used the opportunity to voice their support or concerns with the project.

The seven-member Planning Commission heard presentations from city staff and Disney representatives about the proposal to update a 1990s plan to give the company more flexibility to add attractions, hotels and restaurants in areas of the resort property currently outside where the theme parks already are. The proposal would not add to the Disneyland resort’s current footprint or the caps on what it is allowed to build.

Disney’s Global Development Vice President Rachel Alde said the company is committed to working with residents and “we are simply asking to utilize the entitlements that we already have for the theme park and hotel and spread it across the lands that we already own and control.”

The focus of the proposal is along the western side of the resort and the southeast side on the Toy Story parking lot where there are single-family and multi-family homes nearby.

Beverly Griggs, who lives close to the park, said she moved to Anaheim to be closer to Disneyland, and that she has been pleased with the answers the company has given her about the development proposal. Griggs did express concerns about pests possibly intruding on her house if the theme park moves more of the guest amenities closer.

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“When you are gonna move churros, cotton candy and popcorn a hundred feet away from my house, I want to make sure that the procedures are in place to make (sure) those little guys don’t come across,” Griggs said. “When Disneyland closed down for the pandemic, we had rats and roaches. And as soon as Disneyland reopened, they went back.”

The Planning Commission will vote whether to certify the environmental impact report at a later meeting. The proposal is expected to reach the City Council later this year.

Joe Haupt, a consultant for the company, called DisneylandForward a 40-year project and said it would bring thousands of jobs and new tax revenues for the city. Haupt said the company has made extensive outreach efforts in the community for the past few years.

“Many of the design concepts and design features you’ll see in the project today came out of those interactions with our neighbors,” Haupt said.

Objections to the DisneylandForward project from residents included concerns about more traffic in the resort area and that Anaheim hasn’t built enough housing to accommodate a surplus of workers.

Many hoteliers and building trade groups showed up in support of the DisneylandForward proposal on Monday, praising the expansion plans as good for Anaheim and asking for the Planning Commission to eventually certify the environmental impact report.

Fred Brown, the general manager for the Desert Palms Hotel, said Disney has been an instrumental partner for hotel development in the city and construction will have an impact, but that is temporary.

The Desert Palms Hotels is near the southern end of the California Adventure theme park, and Brown said he occasionally hears people screaming on a roller coaster, but “other than that I’ve never heard any complaints from my guests for noise.”

Frances Noteboom, who’s lived by the resort for more than two decades, said she can count on her hand the number of disturbances the theme park caused her and that she’s been assured that the mitigations for noise will meet her expectations.

“Initially we were upset such a huge project could be built so close to our residential neighborhood, but as time went on, we came to accept that the Disney corporation can, with permits, extend on their land as they see fit,” Noteboom said. “The good thing is we’ve engaged with the principals of the project and they have listened to concerns and acted on our suggestions.”

Residents may submit comments on the environmental impact report through Oct. 30.

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​ Orange County Register 

San Clemente headed toward an elected mayor in planning for by-district elections

• October 11, 2023

As the San Clemente City Council continues efforts to draw up voting districts for the upcoming 2024 elections, one thing that seems certain is voters will directly elect the town’s mayor in the future.

“This way, every two years, voters will vote either for their council person or for the mayor,” Councilmember Rick Loeffler said about the decision to start having an elected mayor. “Having an at-large mayor, you have a say on two people on the council.”

In the present plan, the mayor would serve no more than three two-year terms and would be elected for the first time in 2026. Each councilmember would serve a maximum of eight years or two terms.

Currently the mayor role rotates among the five councilmembers, who chose from among themselves who will wield the gavel each year.

The decision to have a directly elected mayor was made as the council decides how to carve the city into voting districts, with each of four geographic area voting for their council representative. The city’s at-large system that has been used for decades was challenged this year for being “racially polarizing” and in response the council has been looking at the change to by-district elections.

District elections are becoming more common in California, with cities, school districts, and special districts up and down the state making the transition following arguments the at-large election system dilutes the voting power of minority groups. In at-large elections, registered voters in the city vote for all council seats on a ballot and the top vote-getters win the election. In by-district elections, a voter may only vote for a representative from their geographic area when that district is up for election.

The San Clemente City Council is studying three potential maps for dividing the city into four districts.

“The council was able to focus on three maps that we think would work,” Loeffler said, adding they have been put before a focus group with the plan of bringing them back to the council for its Oct. 17 meeting. “The idea is to put like neighborhood with like neighborhood.”

The map with the most support so far shows the Talega and Rancho San Clemente communities as one district and Forster Ranch and Marble Head as another. The other two districts would be along the coast and divided by Avenida Victoria. One district would go to North Beach and the other would go south toward Cypress Shores. From there, it would cross the 5 Freeway and go around the golf course toward the Broadmore area.

Overall, the district discussion has not drawn a lot of public comments during the meetings, Councilmember Steve Knoblock said. “I believe we’ll be able to tack it down at the next meeting.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Former NFL player taken into custody in connection with his mother’s death, source says

• October 11, 2023

Former NFL player Sergio Brown, whose mother was found dead last month near her suburban Chicago home, has been taken in custody by authorities in connection with the death, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

Brown, who had traveled to Mexico, was deported Tuesday and taken into custody by US law enforcement officers near San Diego, the source said, based on an arrest warrant issued in Illinois. Police in San Diego are working to transfer Brown from Southern California to the Chicago area, the source said.

Sergio Brown’s mother was found near a creek behind her home in a Chicago suburb, police said.(WBBM via CNN)

Mexican law enforcement officers have known Brown’s whereabouts since at least September 19, the source said, and deported him after authorities in Illinois finally obtained an arrest warrant pertaining to the death of Brown’s mother.

Authorities discovered the body of 73-year-old Myrtle Brown last month after relatives alerted police they’d been unable to find or contact her or her son, the Maywood Police Department said in a news release.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Myrtle Brown died from injuries related to an assault, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide, according to spokesperson Natalia Derevyanny.

Sergio Brown, 35, played for Notre Dame before signing with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played seven seasons in the NFL as a member of the Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.

The-CNN-Wire & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

​ Orange County Register 

Vote now for the Southern California News Group Boys Athlete of the Week, Oct. 11

• October 11, 2023

Editor’s note: SCNG prohibits the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates.

Welcome to the Southern California News Group’s Boys Athlete of the Week poll.

Throughout the high school sports year, SCNG will provide a list of candidates — selected by our 11 newspapers in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County and San Bernardino County — who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the overall winner.

This week, we consider performances from Oct. 2-8.

The poll closes at 11 p.m. Thursday.

Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.

The weekly winner will be announced each Friday morning online.

GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK POLL

Here are this week’s nominees (the poll is below the list of candidates):

Orange County boys athlete of the week: Julius Gillick, Edison

Press-Telegram Boys Athlete of the Week: Caleb Sanchez, St. John Bosco

Daily Breeze Boys Athlete of the Week: Kameryn Hurst, Carson

Daily News boys athlete of the week: Shane Rosenthal, Newbury Park

San Gabriel Valley Boys Athlete of the Week: Jason Hong, South Pasadena

Inland boys athlete of the week: Jusyis Solis, Aquinas

About the poll: The Southern California News Group includes the Orange County Register, L.A. Daily News, Press-Enterprise, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, Pasadena-Star News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Daily Breeze, San Bernardino Sun, Daily Bulletin and Redlands Daily Facts.

LAST WEEK’S WINNERS

Southern California News Group Boys Athlete of the Week: Taylor Bell, JSerra

Southern California News Group Girls Athlete of the Week: Kayla Giddings, San Marino

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​ Orange County Register 

Vote now for the Southern California News Group Girls Athlete of the Week, Oct. 11

• October 11, 2023

Editor’s note: SCNG prohibits the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates.

Welcome to the Southern California News Group’s Girls Athlete of the Week poll.

Throughout the high school sports year, SCNG will provide a list of candidates — selected by our 11 newspapers in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County and San Bernardino County — who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the overall winner.

This week, we consider performances from Oct. 2-8.

The poll closes at 11 p.m. Thursday.

Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.

The weekly winner will be announced each Friday morning online.

BOYS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK POLL

Here are this week’s nominees (the poll is below the list of candidates):

Orange County girls athlete of the week: Malia Cottriel, Newport Harbor

Press-Telegram Girls Athlete of the Week: Julia Klenk, St. Anthony

Daily Breeze Girls Athlete of the Week: Jennah Black, Torrance

Daily News girls athlete of the week: Lauren Lynch, Sierra Canyon

San Gabriel Valley Girls Athlete of the Week: Hailey Heflin, Glendora

Inland girls athlete of the week: Fallyn Blotzer, Santiago

About the poll: The Southern California News Group includes the Orange County Register, L.A. Daily News, Press-Enterprise, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, Pasadena-Star News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Daily Breeze, San Bernardino Sun, Daily Bulletin and Redlands Daily Facts.

LAST WEEK’S WINNERS

Southern California News Group Girls Athlete of the Week: Kayla Giddings, San Marino

Southern California News Group Boys Athlete of the Week: Taylor Bell, JSerra

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​ Orange County Register