Persistence is Key to 3 Adults with High School Diplomas Through OC Library

Their families and children cheered as adults received their high school diplomas after months, and in some cases years, of school work at the second annual Career Online High School Graduation Ceremony. The three graduating students all completed OC Public Library’s Career Online High School program for the sake of their families. One student did …

An Orange County Streetcar Named Displacement

Twenty-five years ago, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) envisioned covering much of the county in a 90-mile spiderweb of light rail lines. That plan, known as CenterLine, was projected to cost a billion dollars. But it never really got beyond PowerPoint Presentations, and finally went away more than a decade ago. Today a much …

Skateboards and Warren G Dominate LBC’s Dew Tour

Action sports and music are two entities that go hand-in-hand with Southern California culture. Spanning four days over Father’s Day weekend, a diverse mix of skaters, musicians, and fans descended upon the Long Beach Convention Center for Dew Tour 2019. With skateboarding being introduced as a sport to the Summer Olympics for Tokyo 2020, Long …

The Troubador Theater Co. Brings Its Epic The Odd-Essy to Casa Romantica

Used to be a few things in Orange County theater were as reliable as right-wing nut jobs winning re-election: the Crystal Cathedral’s Glory of Christmas leading even Jesus to say, “Fuck this overwrought mess”; Hal Landon Jr. starring in South Coast Repertory’s A Christmas Carol (this December marks his final turn in an incredible 40-year-tenure); …

Law Professor Explores Secret OCDA DNA Database

Orange County’s District Attorney controls the largest database of DNA profiles not created by legislative act in the nation. The database, created in April 2007, is largely shrouded in secrecy. But a new paper by UC Berkeley Law Professor Andrea Roth sheds considerable light on the database. “[W]hile debate continues over statutorily authorized DNA collection, …

Campaign Zero Grades 12 OC Police Departments

On the last day of May, the police accountability advocacy group Campaign Zero released a scorecard grading California’s 100 largest police departments. Using data from 2016 and 2017, the organization scored the departments on a range of factors to assess their accountability and willingness to discriminate and use violence. “Campaign Zero obtained data from state …

What an Excellent Day for an Exorcism [Special Screenings, May 16-23]

Tolkien. Dome Karukoski’s new bio-drama is about the formative years of the orphaned author J.R.R. Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult). Various theaters; fandango.com. Thurs., May 16; visit the website for days, show times and ticket prices; also at Art Theatre, 2025 E. 4th St., Long Beach, (562) 438-5435. Fri.-Wed., 4 & 8:45 p.m.; Thurs., May 23, 4 p.m. $9-$12. …

Patrick Warburton Comes Home to OC to Read Letters from a Nut at Irvine Improv

What you know Patrick Warburton from may depend on when you were born. It could be as Lemony Snicket from the current Netflix show A Series of Unfortunate Events. From 2007 through 2013, Warburton starred as Jeff Bingham on the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement. He also played the titular role on The Tick, but not …

Will New DA Todd Spitzer Meet Deadline to Prove He’s the Anti-Tony Rackauckas?

Attorney General Xavier Becerra called a late-April press conference in Los Angeles to celebrate a $150 million settlement with a Wall Street giant that allegedly abused state public employees on high-risk pension investments. After claiming he holds lawbreakers “accountable,” Becerra stated, “The California Department of Justice is watching.” The former congressional Democrat ended by emphasizing …