TimesOC: Welcome to our Orange County newsletter

Good afternoon, and welcome to the debut of the TimesOC newsletter. It’s Monday, Aug. 17.

My name is David Carrillo Peñaloza, the author of the TimesOC newsletter and an editor for Los Angeles Times Community News. You can call me DCP for short.

It’s back to school for some students in Orange County. My son, Nathaniel, began his fifth-grade year last week, and with his school beginning the year with virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he and his classmates encountered some technical issues. Logging into Google Meet on his school-issued tablet proved problematic for the first couple of days. Forget about trying to download or use some apps.

The best part of my son’s first week, besides seeing his new teacher and peers, was starting school around noon on a Thursday. On the second day, his teacher did give out some assignments, and one in particular intrigued him: write a letter to your future self.

My son wrote about his goals as a fifth-grader, to read more, to improve at math, but his top objective was for things to return to normal, so he could return to in-person learning. He asked me when I thought that was possible. As a parent, you hope to have all the answers, but my kid said he had the solution, telling me in order for students to return to the classroom, “people have to take the coronavirus seriously and everyone should wear a mask and social distance” to help slow the spread of the virus.

He’s 10 and believes in science.

As for Orange County, residents are divided on the issue of masks. As columnist Steve Lopez has written recently about the resistance to sensible COVID-19 precautions in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, around 150 protesters came out to Costa Mesa on Saturday to speak out against the city’s mask campaign. The city requires people to wear masks when out in public or risk a $100 fine.

Anti-mask protesters rally on Saturday against mask orders implemented by the city of Costa Mesa that include a $100 fine if not wearing one in public.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Reporter Lilly Nguyen and photographer Raul Roa covered the demonstration in Costa Mesa, and one protester compared wearing masks to being forced to wear a woman’s religious garment or a kid’s Halloween costume.

“I mean, if I’d come up to you five months ago and I said you have to wear a burka or you have to wear a Spiderman outfit, that would have been a violation of your basic human rights and constitutional rights,” said Leigh Dundas, a human rights attorney in Orange County.

I think my son would be OK with wearing a superhero outfit, if that’s what it takes to defeat the coronavirus.

Orange County is hot, except for the coast

The best place to stay cool in Orange County during this heat wave is in its beach cities.

As of noon Monday, it was 76 degrees in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, San Clemente and Dana Point. Most of the county was in the 90s.

There could be more state-initiated blackouts this week, if conservation measures like setting the air-conditioning thermostat at 78, turning off unnecessary lights, unplugging electrical devices, closing blinds and drapes and using fans don’t work.

Will O.C. schools follow L.A.’s lead on COVID-19 program?

Reporters Howard Blume and Laura Newberry wrote about the Los Angeles Unified School District’s plans to provide coronavirus testing and contact tracing for its students, staff and families, in hopes of reopening the second-largest school district in the country.

Orange County, which has several school districts, hasn’t come up with a COVID-19 testing and contact tracing program for schools.

Matt Beaty hits during the Dodgers’ 8-3 win over the Angels on Sunday. Beaty hit a solo home run in the sixth inning.

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Dodgers sweep Angels in Freeway Series

Reporter Mike DiGiovanna wrote that the gap between the Dodgers and Angels might be as wide as the one between Santa Clarita and San Clemente.

The Angels lost three in a row to the Dodgers over the weekend, the latest being Sunday’s 8-3 setback at Angel Stadium. The Angels dropped to 7-15, giving them the third-worst record in the American League. The Dodgers, at 16-7, have the National League’s best mark.

How safe are inmates in O.C. jails?

Reporter Ben Brazil looked into how civil rights attorneys and local activists are questioning the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s safety protocols for inmates in Orange County jails.

“They say at the time of death these individuals were not exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19,” said Jacob Reisberg, a jail advocate for the American Civil Liberties Union. “They don’t say they didn’t have COVID. They don’t say they didn’t previously exhibit symptoms at a time prior to death. They don’t say they had ever been tested.

“They don’t say whether those individuals may have had other medical conditions, and the strain from COVID on the jail medical system could have exacerbated or led to them to not getting the treatment they need to survive. Looking at just their own words causes a great deal of skepticism.”

Tito Ortiz speaks at a Gov. Gavin Newsom recall rally at the San Diego County Administration Building on June 28.

(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Yes, Tito Ortiz is running for Huntington Beach City Council

Reporter Matt Szabo has the latest on Tito Ortiz, the Huntington Beach Bad Boy who is one of 15 eligible candidates running for three available seats on the Huntington Beach City Council on Nov. 3.

Ortiz, 45, is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts star and an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or suggestions, email me at [email protected], and if you want to sign up for the newsletter, click here. You can also follow me on Twitter @ByDCP and tweet me questions.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, expect us to deliver the news that matters most to your community — from business to entertainment to science to food — and explore what it means for you. We’ll also equip you for your weekends in Orange County, from its beaches to the future of high school sports.

See you Wednesday afternoon.

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