Orange County California

The text of the plaque reads:

KATE and ELLA 1895

Kate and Ella the daughters of the Rea family were early settlers of Anaheim. The family named their ranch "Katella Ranch" after their daughters. The original Anaheim wagon track was later named after them and is now Katella Ave.

Artist: Ramon G Velazco June 2008

Developer Anaheim Gardenwalk II LLC City of Anaheim Public Art Program

Who wants to come? My friend is bailing so I'm all alone.

These Taco Bell fan-favorites are available only at the following stores for a limited time:

Irvine: 2222 Barranca Pkwy, Aug. 15-21 Brea: 303 W. Imperial Hwy, Aug. 15-21 Fullerton: 31 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Aug. 15-21

Feels weird when it's a family you knew and grew up with, their kid, and someone I hung out with a dozen or more times in larger groups.

Nothing much to say other than I had to drive down PCH today and it would have been a better idea to drive around back bay. So many deplorable magats waving their stupid flags, driving in circles. I showed my support by yelling "We love proven rapists who are convicted felons!!" at them when stopped. It's just so embarrassing seeing these anti-democratic, anti-Constitution morons in my city/county/state/country.

If you're a resident of Huntington Beach, head over to the library and sign their petition. They're trying to stop the book bans. I don't want to see a mini Florida or Texas in orange county.

Found an article on the topic: https://www.ocregister.com/2024/05/31/petitions-in-huntington-beach-want-to-ask-voters-to-overturn-changes-at-city-libraries/

There will be an in-person training in Orange County on June 1 and a virtual training on June 8. Deadline to apply is Sunday, May 19.

The Fair Representation Act has been re-introduced in Congress. This bold solution can stop gerrymandering and make Congress work for every American. 

The Fair Representation Act can solve partisan gerrymandering, make every congressional district competitive, and encourage politicians to represent all of us instead of just their base. It does this by combining three reforms: 

• Multi-member districts. In three- or five-member districts, nearly every voter will elect a candidate they support. Voters like Massachusetts Republicans and Oklahoma Democrats will be represented in Congress. Gerrymandering will become nearly impossible.

• Ranked choice voting for all U.S. House and Senate elections. RCV frees voters to support their favorite candidates, and encourages candidates to reach out to more voters for second-choice support. When RCV is used in multi-member districts, it is a form of proportional representation.

• Uniform rules for congressional redistricting 

The Fair Representation Act can be passed without a constitutional amendment. It truly has the potential to transform our political system and create a more inclusive and deliberative government which respects and empowers all voices.

Preferably S. OC (ex: HB, NPB,Costa Mesa, FV) but wouldn't mind recs for other cities.

I'm cooped up at home all day, I gotta do something. Any ideas?

If anyone else freaked out about the jets doing low flyby's today. It's that time again.

Last day to attend the fair is this Sunday

A bit late, as this was announced on July 11th, but it's the first I'd heard of it. Glad to know they were able to get that section of track back open again.

They're also holding a promotion for $10 day passes, as well as kids riding free on the weekends. With free parking at many stations, it's a convenient way to head to the beach without having to worry about beach parking.

Just a heads up to anyone heading to HB this week, but especially this weekend. If you love crowds, head on down. Otherwise, just thought you should know.

Vacancies grow despite companies inking deals for 1.5M sf of offices from April to June

Orange County companies are ditching offices faster than they can rent them, sending the vacancy rate to a historic high of 25 percent.

Firms inked deals for 1.5 million square feet in OC office leases in the second quarter, while vacancies ticked up 1.6 percent to roughly one in four empty offices, the Orange County Business Journal reported, citing Savills.

“Despite the increase in leasing activity, macroeconomic concerns such as recession fears, increasing interest rates, and a slowdown in hiring have caused occupiers to have a wait-and-see approach, which has led to a slowdown in office space demand,” the Savills report said.

“This has also led to many tenants downsizing square footages and/or subleasing their existing office space.”

The rise in leases marked a 39-percent increase to 1.5 million square feet, compared to 1.1 million square feet in the previous quarter.

Of the top 10 deals inked from April to June, just one was a renewal, an improvement for the office market. Six of the top 10 deals in the first quarter were renewals, according to Savills.

Office subleases Orange County also climbed to historic highs, reaching 4 million square feet in June, up 25 percent from 3.2 million square feet last year.

The largest lease inked during the second quarter was by Axonics, which in April moved its headquarters to a 145,500-square-foot office at Sand Canyon Business Center in Irvine.

Empty office square footage across Southern California has shot up 67 percent since the pandemic as more employees work from home. Landlords in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties had 68 million square feet of empty offices last month, up from 41 million square feet in late 2019.

Los Angeles County added 20.7 million square feet of empty offices since 2019, a 73 percent jump. Orange County added 6.3 million square feet, or 57 percent. And the Inland Empire added 300,000 square feet, or 21 percent, according to an Orange County Register analysis.

The overall office vacancy across Los Angeles County was 26.6 percent in the second quarter, according to Savills, up from 25.1 percent during the same period last year. Much of that comes from subleasing, with nearly 2 million square feet on the sublease market over the last year.

— Dana Bartholomew