November 16-24, 2019 is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  This week draws attention to the issue and seriousness of hunger and homelessness in our communities, state and across the country.  Even though the campaign is only a week-long, the lessons and programs started, can be a year-round initiative for all.  In our community, United to End Homelessness remains steadfast in its goal to end homelessness for good in Orange County. 

They currently house people through the WelcomeHomeOC program, which partners with landlords in OC to rent to people who are homeless with housing vouchers.  The program is now expanding to former foster youth – individuals between the ages of 18 and 24, who have aged out of the foster care system and are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless.  To learn more about the United to End Homelessness and ways you can help, please visit

In football, defensive coaches tell their players that the best way to avoid missing a tackle is to keep their eye on the ball carrier’s belly button. The runner may duck, weave, or spin but the belly button is always at the center. This is a fitting metaphor for the annual Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association legislative scorecard.

Increasingly, party affiliation is not always an indicator of sympathy toward taxpayer issues.

 Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva also received an “A” grade.

Treatment industry needs fixing, say state lawmakers

Scores of people filled the council chambers to explore the holes in California’s regulation of the addiction treatment industry and chart a path to better protect patients, and preserve the peace in neighborhoods around treatment facilities and sober living homes.

There was the personal. Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, told of her brother, who suffered from alcoholism and died last year.

The 15th annual Women’s Leadership Forum at the Fullerton Community Center on November 13 was hosted by the Women’s Club of Fullerton (WCOF) and the two women on the City Council, Jan Flory and Jennifer Fitzgerald, to recognize 5 local women leaders.

WCOF and other local non-profits such as the Assistance League, JOYA Scholars, WTLC, and Crittenton along with local restaurants and boutique vendors were set up for attendees to learn, taste, and shop during the opening reception.

Los Alamitos Race Track salutes veterans with dedication of races

A patriotic opening ceremony, a celebration of the American Legion’s 100th anniversary, military vehicle and equipment displays, historical war exhibits in the main lobby and grandstand viewing area courtesy of the California State Military Museum, live music, and free interactive activities, games and pony rides for the children were all part of the inaugural Honoring Our Veterans Night at the Races at Los Alamitos Race Course on Saturday evening.

How Fullerton’s $23 million bet on the Richman Park neighborhood paid off

The neighborhood’s problematic layout led to other inherent issues. Without traffic lights, drivers sped through the streets as kids tried to play or walk to Richman Elementary – residents pleaded with the City Council for help, telling stories of accidents and near-misses involving the children.

Fullerton City Council voted 4-1 (Whitaker “no”) to enter into a cooperative funding agreement with local non-profit the Illumination Foundation to provide $500,000 of City funds for the development of a proposed recuperative care/navigation center in Fullerton for individuals experiencing homelessness, at their November 5 meeting.

The proposed site of the facility is 3535 West Commonwealth Ave.The Illumination Foundation has begun preparation of a conditional use permit application that will be subject to review and approval by the Planning Commission early next year.

Background

With nearly six million students in the K‑12 grade levels in public schools, the State provides billions of dollars each year to local educational agencies: county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools.  In fiscal year 2013–14, the State began funding K‑12 education in part through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to provide more local control over the spending of state funding and to improve educational outcomes among certain groups.

State legislators hear Orange County ideas for fixing homelessness

First-of-its-kind meeting generates broad discussion.

A first-of-its-kind legislative hearing in Buena Park Tuesday covered a wide range of issues related to homelessness in Orange County, from the cost of operating emergency shelters to support for medical-based treatment for jailed addicts to the dynamics some people face for being viewed as ‘resistant’ to accepting services.

Legislators and others push for stronger regulation of addiction-treatment industry at Costa Mesa hearing

Of all the things experts believe are needed to more effectively regulate and oversee California’s substance abuse treatment industry, perhaps the most important can be summed up in one word: teeth.

The term came up several times at Costa Mesa City Hall on Wednesday as legislators, law enforcement officials, health professionals and industry representatives emphasized the need to fashion a robust regulatory framework that includes the resources to monitor and ensure the quality of treatment facilities while providing for enforcement that has, yes, some teeth.

State Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach) led the informational hearing of the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, which she chairs.

During about three hours, she and two of her colleagues in the Legislature — Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton) and state Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) — listened to input from residents and panels of speakers about how best to tackle problems in the addiction-treatment industry.