shavrie@gmail.com

As many of you know, last fall I enlisted the help of Jane Fonda here in Orange County to hold oil companies accountable for the environmental and economic damage they caused due to their oil spill. Jane knows firsthand that I will always fight to protect our environment, which is why she has endorsed my candidacy and invited me to participate in the Grace and Frankie Live Reunion fundraiser this Friday, October 28th at 5 PM! I could not be more thrilled to join Jane and Lily Tomlin for this special live reunion event! 

Redistricting – the process of redrawing electoral districts every 10 years based on U.S. Census data – might mean you’re not voting in the same district you did in the last election.

The new maps released late last year changed the boundaries for U.S. House, state Senate and Assembly seats and even some local races – and even caused some confusion. Some incumbents were drawn out of their districts; in other races, such as in Assembly District 73, incumbents were drawn into the same district.

How should Orange County’s representatives in Sacramento handle issues like homelessness, public safety, crime and human rights?

Over the next few weeks, voters will be choosing new state representatives who will have a role in shaping that future.

For years, Orange County has been a central battleground for just how much power Democrats have in state government – determining whether the party has a supermajority that can raise taxes on its own.

Two OC districts that are drawing statewide attention for being competitive are south county’s 74th District (between Republican Laurie Davies and Democrat Chris Duncan) and the 70th District that includes Little Saigon (between Democrat Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen and Republican Tri Ta).

The current political divide was evident this week at a community forum featuring state candidates, but they also emphasized the need for local control and some promised to reach across the aisle to find solutions.

Speak Up Newport hosted a meeting Wednesday (Oct. 12) and featured this year’s state candidates. More than 80 people packed into the Community Room at the Newport Beach Civic Center and more watched the live stream on local TV or Zoom. Former Councilmember Tony Petros moderated the event.

The forum focused on four candidates in two races: Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) and Judie Mancuso (D-Laguna Beach) vying for the seat in the 72nd Assembly District; and Janet Nguyen (R-Huntington Beach) and Kim Carr (D-Huntington Beach) in the contest for the 36th Senate District.

Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) was invited, but unable to attend. She currently represents the 45th Congressional District, but after recent redistricting, the new map renumbered her area to the 47th District. 

Her challenger for the 47th District, Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach), attended the Speak Up meeting and shared some opening remarks, but then stepped aside so the rest of the time could be dedicated to the candidates whose opponents were at the table.

At one of the final forums for the state races before Election Day, candidates for the 72nd State Assembly District and the 36th State Senate District addressed questions about issues currently impacting Orange County during the Speak Up Newport state candidates’ forum Wednesday night.

The organization invited all six candidates running in the two state districts and the 47th Congressional District. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) was unable to attend. Her opponent, Republican Scott Baugh, participated in the opening remarks but ceded his time to the other candidates.

Regarding “Exotic pet trade poses disease risk” (Open Forum, Aug. 15): Thank you for the article calling on more to be done to stop live wildlife imports, the source of many zoonotic diseases, such as COVID and monkeypox.

To the editor: Thank you for calling on state agencies to enforce the sales ban on kangaroo skin.

California has a long history of protecting wildlife used in commerce via sales bans, including many big cats, zebras, pythons, elephants and others. My nonprofit, Social Compassion in Legislation, cosponsored Assembly Bill 1260, authored by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego), which in 2019 added iguanas, skinks, caimans, hippopotamuses and Teju, Ring and Nile lizards to the list of animals banned for sale in the state.

With so many high-quality, long-lasting synthetics available, there is no justifiable reason animals should be killed for their skins for soccer cleats or any other product.