Orange County

Twitter Hate Map Finds Racism Hot Spot In SoCal

The Twitter "geography of hate" map that's getting so much buzz has nary a splotch of color in Southern California, indicating we are indeed some mellow, peace-loving liberals. Yes, while the Southeast rages with more racial and homophobic outbursts than a redneck with Tourette syndrome, according ... More >>

Marijuana Legalization Proposed By SoCal Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

We're in the midst of strange days: An Orange County Republican wants the Democratic administration in the White House to stop cracking down on marijuana in states where it's legal (!!!). U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher introduced legislation over the weekend that would require federal authorities to re ... More >>

Where the Chefs Eat: Superba Snack Bar's Jason Neroni

Where the Chefs Eat is an ongoing series in which we ask a local chef to give us his or her favorite dining options. This week, Jason Neroni, chef at Superba Snack Bar, tells us his favorite spots to eat these days. Favorite mall food: "I live in Culver City but I was born in Orange County. When I ... More >>

Imperial Stars' 101 Freeway Stunt Earns Probation, Community Service

The most critically acclaimed thing the Orange County band Imperial Stars has ever done was probably blocking the 101 freeway for a publicity stunt two years ago. And that was universally panned. So was it worth it? All three of the band mates pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and misdemeanor cha ... More >>

4.4 Near Yorba Linda: Earthquake Weather?

UPDATE: Shaky days here in L.A. Another 4.5 quake hit at 9:33 a.m., centered near the same place as last night's quake. See more at the bottom. First posted at 11:37 p.m. Tuesday See also: *8.6 Quake Possible in Southern California? A little baby earthquake jolted parts of Southern California toni ... More >>

Two-Year Citrus Quarantine in Eastern Los Angeles County

We knew it was only a matter of time. After watching Brazil's and Florida's citrus get decimated by Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) -- to the tune of billions of dollars -- we knew that despite rigorous agriculture checkpoints, testing and restrictions, California would probably be next. The bug, the c ... More >>

Southern California Blackouts in San Diego, South Orange County During Heatwave

​Updated at the bottom: As power seems to be coming back on, California electricity officials issue a "flex-alert" for the entire state. A power outage affecting all of San Diego County has been reported today, and now we're seeing tweets that the lights have gone out in Dana Point, Laguna Ni ... More >>

Drug Delivery to Huntington Beach Intercepted During U.S. Open of Surfing, Authorities Say

Jon ShafferA surfer at Huntington Beach.​Surfers have a certain reputation. Let's just say that, in California, they often enjoy the right to partake of legal medicine. But in-the-water delivery? That's ridiculous. Authorities say they stopped a small fishing boat after those inside had tried ... More >>

Toll Lanes For Urban L.A. Freeways (10, 110) See Groundbreaking Today: Will You Pay?

Mayor Villaraigosa, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Richard Katz at the groundbreaking.​Are you ready to pay to use carpool lanes, L.A? They've been a failure in terms of getting people to ride together. And the just-ended program that allowed 85,000 hybrid-car owners to purchase permits for them on ... More >>

NorCal Teen Does Time in O.C. Juvenile Hall for Dirty Dancing at Disneyland's ElecTRONica

Watch it, buddy.​If only we'd known, through the many excruciating grind seshes of youth, that we had the power to send those randy 17-year-olds -- boners pressed painfully into our backsides -- straight to juvie for one long, cold weekend of regret. Alas. At least now we can live vicariously ... More >>

PCH-Adjacent Homes Up in Smoke in Spectacular Sunset Beach Fire

KTLA NewsFire in the O.C.​Update: This thing had more legs than Beyonce -- and it kept going overnight. Details at the bottom of the next page. A wild blaze right on the edge of the Pacific ocean claimed one home and appeared to damage another in Orange County's Sunset Beach this afternoon. ... More >>

405 Freeway Tagged With 'R.I.P. Osama'

Orange County RegisterOsama love?​Not everyone in the Southland was popping champagne, flying flags out the sunroof and swapping Obama's the Man memes following last night's triumphant news from Washington -- that al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden had officially been eradicated from the face ... More >>

Rave Called 420 Festival in Orange County Sees Gatecrashing But Only One Arrest [Video]

YouTubeGatecrashers at the 420 Festival.​Gatecrashers attacked the latest mega-rave in Southern California, last weekend's 420 Festival in Orange County's Santiago Canyon, recalling images of last summer's embattled Electric Daisy Carnival at the L.A. Coliseum. But the one-day event was other ... More >>

Chefs' Toys Opens in Torrance

ProfessorSalt.com​ A new commercial restaurant supply house soft-opens today in the shadow of the 405 and 110 freeways. Orange County-based Chefs' Toys stomps a footprint in the South Bay, and sets up across the street from Restaurant Depot, the wholesale-only warehouse store where many restaurant ... More >>

'420 Festival' Rave in Southern California Called Out by Narconon For its Drug Undertones

420 Festival happens Saturday.​Ah, 420, the stoner's holiday, especially here in Southern California. Time to roll one, kick back, and blow doughnuts. It also brings us the annual 420 Festival, a rave that this weekend finds its home near Irvine Lake in Orange County. Fair enough, except t ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

Flickr/dubh​ What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections mid-week. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is free), it's where most of ... More >>

Kim Rebar Henry, Middle-Aged O.C. Woman, Allegedly Moonlights as Racist Graffiti Artist

Anaheim Police DepartmentKim Rebar Henry probably hates you​Holy freakshow. We didn't give the January spree of nine highly offensive tags in Orange County much of a thought, back at the time of their inception -- probably just some young punk trying to get back at the world for not giving a ... More >>

Cockroaches Found in Orange County Prison Food (No, the Other Orange County)

Flickr/Still BurningA prison cell​Multiple news outlets are reporting that on Saturday morning, inmates at an Orange County prison found cockroaches in their food. Fortunately for California prisoners and their families, this roach infestation took place in the other Orange County, in Florida. ... More >>

Sad Day For Potheads In SoCal: O.C. Bans Dispensaries In Unincorporated Areas Too

O.C. bans pot shops in unincorporated areas ... too.​Orange County banned pot shops in its unincorporated areas the same day L.A. County did the same thing. Sorry, dispensaries. The O.C. Board of Supervisors' vote was the same as L.A.'s too: 4-1. Eerie (not irie). So now if you need your "m ... More >>

Orange County Considers Outlawing Pot Shops In Unincorporated Areas

themadpothead​When it comes to pot shops, Orange County isn't exactly green with envy over the city of L.A's title as marijuana dispensary capital of the nation. In fact, the county's staff has recommended that O.C. outlaw pot shops in unincorporated areas of the county. The O.C. Board of Sup ... More >>

Lawrence Joseph Brown, Convicted Of Raping 7- And 8-Year-Old Girls, Scheduled To Be Back On SoCal's Streets Wednesday

Lawrence Joseph Brown is headed back to the streets of SoCal.​In the Department of Really!? this one ranks at the top. Lawrence Joseph Brown raped two young girls -- ages 7 and 8 -- so disgustingly we can't even begin to describe his crimes here. But after receiving a 49-year sentence for th ... More >>

SoCal 'Kush Expo' Will Let You Smoke Weed On-Site -- In O.C.

FacebookKush Expo promises the L.A.-O.C. area's first pot-convention smoking lounge.​Earlier this week Gov. Arnold Schwarzengger said on the Tonight Show that, in California, "No one cares if you smoke a joint or not." That pronouncement just might be put the test this weekend as the Kush Exp ... More >>

Water-Quality Testing At California Beaches Down; Public Health At Risk?

Flickr via irene​ Health officials have reduced bacteria testing at California beaches, a move that has resulted in fewer closures, but one that could also be putting more beach-goers at greater risk when it comes to contaminated water, according to the Los Angeles Times. The number of annual ... More >>

UCLA: More Angelenos Without Health Insurance

​Nearly 29 percent of residents of L.A. County younger than 65 didn't have health insurance at some point last year, according to a new UCLA study. That's a staggering 2.7 million people and was significantly higher than the statewide average of 24.3 percent. Researchers blame the recession, ... More >>

O.C. Pot Shops Facing Closure Appeal Case To Federal 9th Circuit Court

​A quartet of Orange County pot shops have appealed their case, which seeks to avoid closure at the hands of the cities of Costa Mesa and Lake Forest, to the federal 9th Circuit court, the Daily Pilot reports. The appeal comes after a U.S. judge denied the plaintiffs' case earlier this month, ... More >>

Anatolian Culture & Food Festival Today Through Sunday

Anatolian FestivalNow is the time to explore the cuisine of Anatolia​ Eating too much of the same old Italian, Chinese, Mexican and Japanese food lately? Well from today through Sunday, you can head over to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine for a wide range of Anatolian food at the Anato ... More >>

Cities May Close Down Pot Shops, SoCal Federal Judge Rules

​A bid by four medical marijuana patients to prevent a pair of Orange County cities from closing down medical pot shops was denied by a federal judge in Santa Ana Monday, according to the Orange County Register. The foursome had argued that the Americans with Disabilities Act protected their ... More >>

Petros: Stuck in the Middle With You

And I'm wondering what it is we should do

Ask Mr Gold: Stuck in the Middle With You

Photo credit: Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menu​Dear Mr. Gold: I should probably be sent to therapy for attempting this in the first place, but I'm going on a first date with someone from Orange County. Since I pack a passport when I have to go east of the 405, obviously there is no way ... More >>

Attorney General Jerry Brown Slows Down Early Releases

Jerry Brown.​California Attorney General Jerry Brown effectively tapped the brakes on early releases from local jails by issuing an opinion that a parole reform law designed to get convicts out earlier does not apply retroactively to time served. As a result, those behind bars will have to wai ... More >>

Granny Can't Grow Pot In South O.C. Community Garden

​The senior-living community of Laguna Woods in South Orange County has been a must-stop location for Republicans raising money and running for office. It's a conservative enclave in a conservative part of a traditionally red county. But sprouts of green have been cropping up as some of its re ... More >>

Today In WTF: L.A. Tornado Warning Issued (UPDATED

​A tornado warning for south central Los Angeles County has been canceled Tuesday afternoon, but another was issued for southeastern Orange County, southwester Riverside County and northwestern San Diego County. This as the second of three successive winter storms hit the Southland Tuesday. T ... More >>

Teens Find New Way To Recycle Christmas Trees -- Surf On Them

KTLA News​We're glad a new generation of Southern Californians has discovered fresh ways of going green. In Orange County, a group of teens has been spotted surfing discarded Christmas trees -- tying them up to the back of a vehicle while one of the brave ones sits or stand on it as the driver ... More >>

Peanut Butter Wolf's Got Shows (In Different Area Codes): Nine Gigs, Nine SoCal Codes, All 90s Music

Following on the heels of his two previous marathon DJ gigs (eight gigs in a row last year, seven the year before), Peanut Butter Wolf has announced a nine-night tour of the nine area codes stretching from Los Angeles, Orange County to the Inland Empire. Each night the resident Stones Throw DJ will ... More >>

(Vlad and) The Impalers Looking for a Few Good Fan Videos

Heela Naqshband For those who love mashing up your music collection with video footage, Orange County punks (Vlad and) The Impalers wants your YouTube clips. The band, in connection with Geykido Comet Records, is hosting a video contest for "I've Got the Man on My Back," taken from last year's self ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Hospitals Blocked From Skid Row Dumping City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo has secured protocols -- and a $1.6 million settlement -- with Orange County's College Hospitals to prevent them from future patient-dumping on L.A.'s Skid Row. Associated Press, City Attorney's OfficeHate Tags A white Los Alamit ... More >>

Orange County's Pink Slips

The O.C. Register reports online that Orange County's top five employers have announced they will lay off 2,500 employees in the coming year. The full list is topped by Irvine's J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, which plans to issue 514 pink slips, with Aliso Viejo's Marvell Semiconductor Inc. only sacking on ... More >>

New Moves

Pachuco: The Linguistic Origins

Plus, the story on Orange County's ahistoricity

The Answer Man

¡Ask a Mexican! Asking for It

Frequently asked questions for the Mexican

Air Inferiority

Is “Run!” the new strategy against firestorms on California's urban fringe?

Soulless Converts

L.A. tries to deal with the rush on condos

Snakebites

Turn That Smile Into a Brown

How the Orange bishop put the deal together

Patriot Act

"Forged in fire" fighting for gay rights in O.C., WeHo mayor John Duran isn't afraid to speak out

Starters Alternators

Them

California takes on the Fire Ant

The Right Stuff

Conservative Collapse

From Gingrich to Lungren, the right is routed