TimesOC: Orange County’s clean energy agency is in turmoil
Good morning and welcome to the TimesOC newsletter.
It’s Friday, June 3. I’m Ben Brazil, bringing you the latest roundup of Orange County news and events.
When the Orange County Power Authority formed in late 2020, it was seen as an important step toward increasing the use of renewable energy in the county.
The power authority is the county’s first community choice energy program, or CCE, which provides cities with an alternative to major energy providers like Southern California Edison, the energy titan serving most of Orange County and the region. So far, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Buena Park and Fullerton are all members.
But the organization has faced scrutiny for transparency issues and drawn criticism for how committed it is to renewable energy usage and the qualifications of its chief executive Brian Probolsky.
This week, my colleague Gabriel San Román wrote about a whistleblower complaint from Probolsky claiming that Huntington Beach council members Dan Kalmick and Mike Posey, who have both been on the board of the power authority, are conspiring to oust him from the agency. The complaint alleges that Kalmick is spearheading the effort to get Posey to take the helm of the authority.
The complaint also alleges that Kalmick violated the Brown Act — which protects the public’s right to attend and participate in government meetings — when he made a series of calls to fellow board members Susan Sonne, Farrah Khan and Fred Jung to allegedly get support for ousting Probolsky.
“The claims in this complaint are categorically false,” Kalmick said. “The notion that I would create a conspiracy to trade for a seat on the Power Authority Board is absurd. My council appointed me to the seat because they know I’m passionate about power policy and want to see good governance.”
Probolsky has been embroiled in controversy since he took control of the agency.
San Román wrote that he has been criticized for lacking experience in the energy sector. Dr. Kathleen Treseder, a UC Irvine biology professor, Irvine City Council candidate and OC Green Power co-founder, said in the past that he should be removed from his role and replaced with an expert in the energy industry.
“As OCPA has been developing and progressing, I’m getting more and more concerned about it,” Treseder told the Daily Pilot at the time. “I’m not convinced that it’s actually going to deliver cleaner energy when it starts up.”
Probolsky found his name in the news again in December when green energy advocate Antonia Castro-Graham resigned as the chief operating officer of the power authority amid tensions with Probolsky, San Román wrote.
An attorney representing Probolsky has requested that Ryan Baron, the power authority’s general counsel, investigate the claims of the complaint.
MORE NEWS
Some advocates and nonprofit leaders in Orange County are concerned that recent data showing a decrease in the number of homeless people in the county may be inaccurate and provide a misleading picture of the countywide housing crisis. Getting an accurate accounting of the number of homeless people in the county can be crucial for attaining adequate funding from the federal government for homeless services. Advocates are hoping that county leaders will accept that the federally mandated Point in Time count has deficiencies and adopt a new method of keeping track of the homeless.
Huntington Beach officials this week broke ground on a new low-income senior apartment complex on a vacant lot on Beach Boulevard. The Jamboree Housing Corp. will manage the 43-unit property, 33 units of which will be reserved for homeless seniors, wrote my colleague Matt Szabo. The project comes as several other cities have been working to clean up Beach Boulevard, a once-bustling thoroughfare that has become known for its crime-ridden motels and hotels. The city of Stanton has already converted two former motels into affordable housing projects.
Costa Mesa police arrested two people this week for allegedly selling the dangerous synthetic drug fentanyl online from their home. The Huntington Beach residents were also booked on suspicion of child endangerment after a search of their home. Police said they discovered the illegal business when detectives reached out to set up a sale, wrote reporter Sara Cardine. The drug paraphernalia was allegedly within reach of the child living at the home.
Two people died this week in traffic collisions in Huntington Beach within 24 hours of each other. One of them, a woman, was killed Wednesday on Bolsa Chica Street, the other a man on Pacific Coast Highway. Neither drugs nor alcohol were believed to be factors in the accident, wrote reporter Lilly Nguyen.
LIFE AND LEISURE
If you’re up for some fried fish, beer and live entertainment this weekend, the annual Costa Mesa Fish Fry is returning to Lion’s Park after a pandemic-related hiatus. Hosted by the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club, the beloved event will also include a wine garden to go with the 1,000 pounds of fried fish. Proceeds from the event will go toward the club’s scholarship and grants program.
Renowned Orange County chefs Ross Pangilinan and Nicholas Weber are opening a modern Cal-French bistro, Populaire, at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. My colleague Sarah Mosqueda wrote that the restaurant will feature fine French food with a California twist in an approachable setting. An example of the fusion is the restaurant’s escargot, which has snails encased in sauerkraut aebelskivers served with a buttermilk sauce and parsley oil.
Hundreds of Los Amigos High students graduated this week at Monsoor Memorial Stadium on the campus of Garden Grove High. Brianna Bayliss represented Los Amigos’ class of 2022 as its valedictorian and received the Gates scholarship, which is meant to assist minority high school seniors of outstanding merit from low-income households, wrote my colleague Andrew Turner. Check out the story and photos of the event.
SPORTS
Angels manager Joe Maddon said this week that star player Shohei Ohtani may be unknowingly tipping off batters about his pitches. This came after a few less than stellar performances from Ohtani on the mound, particularly a game against the Yankees where he gave up four runs and eight hits. “There is things that pitchers can do that other teams pick up on,” Maddon said. “And when you have a group of guys that are good at that, you get an advantage. We just have to be more vigilant.”
Angels slugger Mike Trout made an enduring mark in his hometown community of Millville County. Reporter Mike Digiovanna this week wrote about the working-class community’s support of Trout, who has grown from a Little Leaguer to a three-time American League most valuable player and nine-time All-Star.
Laguna Beach High has chosen a former student athlete to take over the girls’ water polo team. The school is hoping that Claire Sonne will help maintain the team’s winning culture. The team’s longtime coach retired in April after winning nine total CIF Southern Section championships in 14 years of coaching. “I have so much love for the Laguna Beach water polo community,” Sonne said. “It’s such a special community that has affected me positively on a personal level in many facets — obviously as a player, and getting to assistant coach and shadowing Ethan last summer was really awesome and powerful.
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