Hot Flashes

They may not make it as OC cocktail chatter, but here are five stories we’re following.

Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register A wall of flames in Irvine last October

Road Rage
You can’t get much hotter than the controversy surrounding the proposed 16-mile extension of the 241 Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach Park, the fifth most visited park in the state system and one of the last great expanses of SoCal coastal open space. Opponents say it would greatly harm ocean water quality, degrade the habitat of at least seven endangered species, do nothing to relieve freeway congestion, and ruin the waves from Cottons to Lower Trestles. Proponents, like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, say the road will relieve congestion and have minimal environmental impact. On February 6, after a public hearing attended by a reported 3,000 protesters, the California Coastal Commission sided with caution and vetoed the project with an 8-2 vote, suggesting the TCA find another route. But don’t wax up that 6-footer yet. The TCA appealed the decision to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. And the Governator seems intent on seeing the road built. (In March, he terminated State Parks Commission members Clint Eastwood and his own brother-in-law, Bobby Shriver, two high-profile officials who came out publicly against the project.) Don’t expect things to cool down soon. Appeals of this nature usually take up to a year. Until then, go surfin’, bro.

Agua Fina
Among water managers across a planet of increasing population and a shortening fresh water supply, Orange County’s $481 million Groundwater Replenishment System is one of the hottest topics going. Since November of 2007 the plant has been turning sewer water the color of dark beer into crystal clear water suitable for drinking at the rate of 70 million gallons a day. Proponents call the process “indirect potable water reuse.” Detractors decry it as “toilet to tap.” But don’t back away from that tap just yet: despite officials insisting that the water exceeds drinking water standards after the four-step purifying process – including microfiltration, chemicals, ultraviolet light, and reverse osmosis – state regulations prohibit it flowing directly to kitchen or bathroom taps. So instead, it is injected underground, filtering into aquifers that eventually supply 2.3 million people, or about 75% of Orange County.

Next Top Cop
No, it’s not a new reality TV show – it’s the search for an OC sheriff. After one-time rising political star Mike Carona crashed and burned last year in a blaze of public corruption, four dozen candidates ranging from local law enforcement officials to a French Interpol executive threw their hats in the ring to take over the state’s second largest sheriff’s department. By the time you read this, the county Board of Supervisors may have already narrowed the field and selected our next top cop. Of course, the lucky winner will take over a department mired in jailhouse scandal (including the beating death of an inmate and the bizarre apparent electrocution of a cat by deputies) and low morale. And then there will be the high-profile federal corruption trial, set to start in August, of Carona and his co-defendants: his wife, Deborah, and his alleged mistress, Debra Hoffman. You know, maybe there is a reality show in this somewhere after all…

Flaming Out
When the Santiago Canyon wild fire broke out last October, local fire authorities battled the blaze with outdated equipment and insufficient staffing. It took more than two weeks to contain the flames. By then, 28,000 acres were scorched and 14 homes destroyed. In response to last year’s shortcomings, the Orange County Fire Authority has vowed to invest millions of dollars in increased staffing and improved equipment – including $21 million for a pair of built-to-order helicopters to replace the agency’s Vietnam War-era choppers. However, most of these upgrades won’t happen in time for this year’s fire season, which means the authority has to fight fires on a different front: prevention. The authority has stepped up its inspection and enforcement efforts, which are already underway. (Last year, they began in July, well into fire season.) Homeowners in hazardous areas are being instructed to clear dead trees, dry brush and other hazardous materials, and create “safety zones” of drought tolerant, fire resistant plants like yarrow and California poppy.

School Daze
California legislators declared 2008 “the year of education,” but apparently they forgot to check the numbers. The slumping housing market and other factors have the state facing a $16 billion – yes, that’s billion – shortfall and a governor who has pledged not to raise taxes. At press time he was proposing roughly $4 billion in cuts from public education, which would result in over $200 million from Orange County school districts and the possible layoffs of almost 2,000 teachers. Families are striking back with everything from organized protests to innovative fundraisers. But however you figure it, Orange County public schools are in for a bumpy ride.

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