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| Volume 2 | Issue 46 |
December 2, 2022 |
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Dear neighbor:
It’s DECEMBER! The year flew by. I’m honored that we have the opportunity to continue serving for 4 more years. This month our team will post lots of moments of our work in the community, initiatives accomplished, events, and team member retrospectives. We hope you will share some of your favorite moments of the last year, or even some challenges, so we can learn and grow and improve.
I hope you had a restful Thanksgiving holiday - we had a busy week, and I look forward to an eventful holiday season! During Thanksgiving week, I reflected on all for which I am grateful and took part in fun events in the community. For instance, I’m truly grateful for the community volunteers and interfaith based organizations who collaborate to serve the most in need here in Orange County.
When I got the call that Fresh Beginnings Ministries was short funding to purchase the turkeys and meal boxes needed for their Thanksgiving food distribution this year, I happily stepped in and helped with a $60,000 American Rescue Plan grant. Pastor Bill Nelson & Fresh Beginnings provided 1000 Thanksgiving meals to more than a dozen non-profits that help to serve our most vulnerable populations in Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Tustin and Garden Grove. I am honored to have the opportunity to support such amazing people and organizations that help keep their neighbors fed.
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 Thanks also to my commissioner Muriel Ullman, Pastor Ron Rayna, Nelli, Christian & Olga Parra, Lighthouse Community Church, Habor Christian Family Church, Heroes Landing, and all of their wonderful volunteers that make these food distributions possible.
 I’m truly grateful to our community business leaders who support our troops, especially our new service members away from home during the holidays. Thank you to HH Cottons for serving meals and hosting 180 US Marines on Thanksgiving. We are all grateful for their willingness to serve our country.
This week on Tuesday, I attended the Board of Supervisors meeting where we voted on a couple major agenda items. As Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) continues to grapple with RSV, the Board of Supervisors extended the state of emergency to allow other hospitals to treat sick children. The cases we talked about during the board meeting are serious emergency cases that are unique to children and cannot be treated in a normal emergency room.
If we learned anything from the last few years, it’s the importance of investing in public health and science. Once built, the new HCA facilities will transform the way our County maintains public health, navigates health emergencies, and provide key services to community members. I am happy to support this major investment that is instrumental in keeping Orange County moving forward.
On Wednesday, my fellow dignitaries and I pulled the halyard and raised the flag over the Orange County Veterans Cemetery! The flag is over 100 feet tall, and the giant flag can be seen from the 91 and 241 highways. This just marks the beginning, and I look forward to the day this space opens for our veterans.
 Here I am with Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (the principal author of the bill responsible for the veterans cemetery), Army Veteran State Senator Josh Newman, Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, and Supervisor Lisa Bartlett! Also pictured are principal officers of Veterans Alliance of Orange County: Navy and Vietnam veteran Bobby MacDonald, Marine Corps Veteran Michelle De La Cruz, Marine Corps and Vietnam Veterans Bill Cook and Nick Berardino.
Then on Friday, I joined Supervisor Lisa Bartlett at the Laguna College of Art and Design. We have been working together on exploring options to revamp John Wayne Airport’s logo, and I enjoyed seeing the students’ creativity demonstrated in their projects.
 I also want to remind you about my office’s annual Holiday New Coat Drive for Kids, which continues until December 15. Donations support local organizations like The Boys & Girls Club-Central Coast, Marshallese Youth OC, SOY (Save Our Youth), and families identified in need by local schools. Drop off any new, unused children’s coats at the following locations and help us spread holiday cheer and warmth this winter!
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County Administration North (CAN) Lobby – 400 W Civic Center Drive, Santa Ana
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Costa Mesa City Hall – 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa
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Orange County Employees Association (OCEA) – 830 N Ross Street, Santa Ana
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Costa Mesa Police Department Lobby – 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa
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The Foley Group, PLC – 2755 Bristol Street, Suite 110, Costa Mesa
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Miguel’s Junior – Costa Mesa - 141 East 17th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
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Miguel’s Junior – Orange - 1325 N Tustin Street, Orange, CA 92867
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Miguel’s Junior – Tustin - 2855 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92782
 Finally: Mark your calendars for December 14! Come and visit with us at the Orange County Board of Supervisors Holiday Open House! My team and I would love to see you from 2-4pm in the new County Administration North building. Free parking in P4 off Broadway St. Refreshments will be provided! + it’s the perfect time to bring a new children’s coat for our coat drive if you can!
 Signing off for the weekend – Team Foley and I will be at the Corona del Mar Christmas Walk on Sunday, we hope to see you there!
Be Well,
 Katrina Foley
Supervisor
County of Orange
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In This Edition
Read more about local events, community and health news, District and County initiatives, and other important updates!
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Upcoming Board of Supervisors Meeting On December 6, 2022
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Alex Rounaghi
Legislative Policy Advisor
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Last week, I attended the One Water One Watershed (OWOW) Steering Committee on behalf of Supervisor Foley. We received a briefing from the Solve the Water Crisis Coalition about the water supply crisis that our state faces. The facts are sobering—this is a systemic infrastructure crisis that must be fixed. Addressing the water crisis is a priority for our office and Supervisor Foley, and I will update you on this important issue.
Today, Supervisor Foley and I had a productive meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Orange County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council. The stakeholders include Probation, the Courts, the District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender, and community organizations. We discussed performance metrics to ensure that taxpayer dollars are allocated for programs that work and help our must vulnerable live up to their potential and avoid recidivism.
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Manuel Chavez
Constituent Services Manager
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On Thursday, I attended the renaming ceremony for California iInspire Academy in Orange. The school is a leader in innovation having a Spanish dual immersion program and a Take Home iPad program that allows students to continue their learning at home. It was a pleasure to learn more about the school and join the California iInspire Bear as they make history!
Another reminder that the Supervisor Foley’s 14th Annual Holiday New Coat Drive is still ongoing. We are looking for new children’s coats, so you can drop off a new coat at one of the following locations.
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Cindy Tran-Chang
Policy Advisor
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“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening…” With the rain and cold weather as of recent, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!! This week, we are prepping for Corona Del Mar’s Christmas Walk on Sunday, December 4th in CDM. We’ll be serving red and green cotton candy and sharing County resources at our booth. Spin the wheel for some other cool giveaways we’ll have on hand!
We’re also getting ready for our annual Board of Supervisors Holiday Open House on December 14th from 2PM-4pm at the office of Supervisor Katrina Foley. RSVP to Kimberlee.Belli@ocgov.com. Refreshments will be provided. We invite you to share the love and donate a new kid’s coat for the Supervisor's 14th annual new coat drive for kids. The drive runs November 21st through December 15th. Check out our flyer for details on drop off sites in Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. Any questions can be directed to (714) 834-3220.
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Annie Mitchell
Policy Analyst
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On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend Captain Dave’s Dana Point Dolphin and Whale Safari ribbon-cutting event for their new vessel. The Hoku Nai’a is a 65-foot double decker catamaran whose name stands for dolphin star. With their new vessel, Dave and Gisele plan on doing full day trips to Catalina including a snorkeling tour, dinner cruises and much more. Gisele and Dave have done so much for our community, as well as for our coast and marine life. Something that I learned while at the ribbon cutting is one of their fleet boats, Lily, a 62-foot power catamaran is readily equipped to respond to a whale or dolphin in distress, and can host a rescue team, so they are able to care for the whale or dolphin. They also have more personal boats for smaller tours, the Fast Cat can host groups of up to twelve and guests can get up close and personal with the amazing marine life! |
Stephanie Wade
Veterans Policy Advisor
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It was a great week for Orange County Veterans, and the Supervisor can share much of the credit. At Tuesday’s Board Meeting, the Board unanimously voted in a $15.8 million mental health and wellbeing program to support diverse communities. Because of Supervisor Foley and her appointee to the Behavioral Health and Behavior Board, Chase Wickersham, that program includes a $1.6 million contract to provide services peer-to-peer, veteran to veteran counseling to county veterans, particularly those older, socially isolated veterans that we know are at extreme risk of suicide.
Another example of successful collaboration benefiting the Veteran’s community took place on Wednesday morning in Northeast Anaheim where Supervisor Foley joined several of her Veterans Advisory Committee Members, State Senator Josh Newman, three of the other four Supervisors, and State Assemblymembers Sharon Quirk-Silva and Cottie Petrie-Norris in raising the flag over the new Orange County Veterans Cemetery. The Supervisor and her Veterans Advisory Committee have been instrumental in building a coalition that made a once controversial project, a matter of consensus supported by all 34 of our county’s cities and virtually every Veteran’s group in the county. The 30’ x 60’ flag and the 100’ foot tall pole on which it flies, is now visible to 320,000 people who drive past it every day. It is the first piece of cemetery construction in a project that the county is committed to completing by 2025. Thank you, Supervisor Foley, for fighting for those who have fought for all of us!
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Health News
Michele Mullen
Community Outreach Director
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As of December 1, 2022 2,359,862 of Orange County residents are fully vaccinated, 218,379 are partially vaccinated, and 1,421,959 received their shot or booster dose. That is great news as we reopen and get back to living our best lives.
As of December 1, 2022, OC Health Care Agency: The respiratory virus RSV is causing increased hospital admissions. Getting vaccinated against COVID and Flu will help reduce possibilities of hospital admission and ICU during this winter season. Read more on RSV at https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/index.html.
As Winter COVID-19 Cases Surge, OC Health Care Agency Reminds Residents that COVID Therapeutics Are Effective and Widely Available. According to County Health Officer and HCA’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, “When someone tests positive for COVID-19, there are now more safe and effective treatment options available for preventing COVID-19 illness from getting serious, and they are free and widely available. Medications such as the Paxlovid pill can stop the virus from multiplying in your body, help you test negative sooner, and may lower the risk of developing Long COVID symptoms. Additionally, you do not need to have insurance or US citizenship.
According to recent studies, Long COVID or (Post COVID-19), can affect between 10-30% of adults who have tested positive for COVID-19. Many Long COVID patients report persistent symptoms such as headache, memory impairment, fatigue, muscle pain and more up to six months after initial illness. Learn more here: PASC Dashboard (aapmr.org).
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OC Health Update
As of December 1, 2022, there are 293 total cases of Monkeypox and 15 (5%) hospitalizations in Orange County.
It is increasingly important to remain safe and healthy and it is a top priority of mine to keep community members updated with the most recent guidelines. To find more information on the latest guidelines issued by the HCA, visit occovid19.ochealthinfo.com.
Experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or any variants? Review the Quarantine Calculator: Here
As you celebrate summer activities and plan vacations, protect yourself and loved ones from COVID-19 by following safe travel guidelines issued by the CDPH.
See the latest guidance: Here
Pet of the Week
Meet Benji, Pet of the week! After being notified of certain rules at the apartment complex, Benji's owner had to surrender him to OC Animal Care. Since Benji has been in our care, he has been nothing but a true gentleman, keeping his living area nice and tidy! He loves meeting other four-legged friends, and is one of our best walkers. As a one-year-old pit bull, Benji is incredibly active and would be best suited to live with adults or a home with children older than 10 who can continue to work with him on his basic training.
Are you able to give this handsome fella a second shot at a great life in a new forever home? Call (714) 935-6848 to schedule an adoption appointment today! Walk-ins are welcome! *
*Walk-ins are on a first-come, first-served basis as staffing allows.
OC Alert
Sign up for AlertOC to get notified in case of emergency in Orange County. The mass notification system is designed to keep Orange County residents and businesses informed in the event of a time-sensitive emergency. YOU MUST OPT IN TO RECEIVE ALERTS. Register today at AlertOC.org.
Appointments for Veterans Services
 Orange County Microbusiness Grants Re-Launch
Guo Pei: Art of Couture – OPENED NOVEMBER 12
Bowers Museum will once again welcome international couture powerhouse Guo Pei as she transforms the galleries into a world of fantasy this fall.
The exhibition Guo Pei: Art of Couture premiers with a fresh take on the artist’s finest and most personal pieces, including gowns hand selected by Guo Pei herself. Hot on the heels of her success at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, Bowers’ entirely new exhibition opened to the public on November 12, 2022.
Guo Pei: Art of Couture will feature over 40 works of couture art curated for exhibit by the world-renowned designer. Among the bespoke selection is Guo Pei’s Chinese Bride collection, which makes its North American debut at the Bowers.
OC Workforce Solutions
Ready Set OC offers no-cost employment training for Orange County youth ages 14-24, including those with disabilities or IEP plans, former or current foster children, pregnant or parenting, offender/ex-offender, and those experiencing homelessness, including couch-surfing or at risk of homelessness.
To find out more information, call the OC Business and Economic Recovery Call Center at (714) 480-6500 or text (657) 210-1295. Email info@readysetoc.com
Equity in OC
Are you in charge of a grassroots organization? the Equity in OC initiative is releasing a POWER BUILDING FUND toprovide smaller, grassroots organizations with the opportunity to build their infrastructure and/or capacity
Learn More: Here
Committee Appointments
If you have questions or comments that you'd like to share, in relation to the committees below, please email me at Katrina.Foley@ocgov.com
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Team Foley
Thank you for being an active member of our County.
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