ON OC

Voice of OC works with a reporting boot camp for middle schoolers in Santa Ana, producing a podcast where kids sounds off on life in Santa Ana as well as the immigration debate that is playing out in their living rooms and neighborhoods.

Chapman University Political Science Professors Fred Smoller and Mike Moodian explore the election trends that fueled the June primary along with offering insights on what trends to keep watch over as congressional and local races heat up as we head into November. Part two of a two-part series.

Chapman University Political Science Professors Fred Smoller and Mike Moodian talk about election results from the June primary with a focus on the four hotly contested congressional seats in Orange County along with a potential run off for the Sheriff and a contested District Attorney election. Part One of a two-part series.

OC Democratic Party Chairwoman Fran Sdao and OC Republican Party Chairman Fred Whitaker talk about prospects, issues and strategy for Tuesday’s election races across Orange County as well as the future of political parties in local government.

Neal Kelley has effectively administered more than 70 countywide elections since coming on the job more than a decade ago. Kelley talks about what to expect, in terms of election results, from this coming June's primary as well as the future of voting in Orange County.

A brewing controversy over removing horses and community equestrian stables from the state fairgrounds in Costa Mesa has awoken a decades-old argument over just who the fairgrounds serves; the community or the fair industry? A new community group, Friends and Neighbors of the Orange County Fairgrounds talks with Voice of OC Publisher Norberto Santana Jr. about their concerns regarding the future of the 150-acre property just off the 405 and 55 freeway interchanges in the heart of Orange County.

Feet to the Fire Panelists - Daily Pilot Columnist Barbara Venezia and LA Times Executive Editor for Community News John Canalis - join Voice of OC Publisher Norberto Santana Jr. and update all the jockeying in the bid for the 48th Congressional District primary up next month along with a lively discussion about the state of media in Orange County as the local press corps prepares for the annual OC Press Club awards.

Cesar Covarrubias, from Orange County’s Kennedy Commission, talks about the challenges of building affordable housing in Orange County, noting there’s plenty sites and even political will— but not enough important gap financing for projects.

Elizabeth Hansburg, who started a chapter of the group, Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY), in Orange County, talks with On OC about her goal of getting elected officials to stand behind affordable housing construction – even when there’s political heat.

Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait talks about how the City of Anaheim has approached homelessness, given the fact that most federal and state funds go to the County of Orange. The answer, Tait, said has come from the non-profit sector, providing things like drug treatment, jobs program, basic sheltering and affordable housing. Yet Tait said big employers like Disneyland and the County of Orange both need to step up on the issue.