The City Square Association of California Cities - Orange County

Since it looks like the California Water Fix - or two tunnels - will be built in two phases, it makes sense that we present our podcast on the California Water Fix in two parts.  In the second part of our two-parter you'll hear from MET Director Larry Dick, MWDOC Director Megan Yoo Schneider, Huntington Beach Councilwoman Barbara Delgleize and IRWD Director and Association of California Water Agencies Vice President Steve LaMar.  Is the California Water Fix worth $4 or $5 per month on your water bill?  Perhaps Benjamin Franklin put it best when he said, "We'll know the worth of water when the well runs dry."  Dive into today's podcast to learn more about water!

The Association of California Cities Orange County hosted a breakfast with water leaders from throughout the county and throughout the region and The City Square was there.  What is the California Water Fix?  Will it really provide more water reliability?  What other water solutions are Orange County water leaders looking at?  We answer those questions and more in Part One of our two-parter on water as we recorded live from Newport Beach at the ACC-OC California Water Fix Summit.

Take cover!  The pension tsunami is looming right off of Orange County's coast!  But it's not enough to go inland - every California city is at risk.  If we aren't careful, we'll soon be paying more for those who have retired from public agencies than we're paying for those working at public agencies.  Cities find their hands tied by the politics of Sacramento, but there are still options on the table for local leaders.  Tune in this week as we speak to Diane Dixon, City Councilwoman from Newport Beach, and Lyn Semeta, City Councilwoman from Huntington Beach as we tackle the critically important issue of public employee pension reform.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.  The second best time is today!  In our first podcast of 2018 we interview Scott Griffiths of Great Scott Tree Services about how important trees are to the health and beauty of our communities.  The challenges of keeping trees pruned and healthy.  When to trim.  How to trim.  The impact of a nasty little bug called the shot-hole borer.  The affect of drought and of too much rain.  And Scott talks about how his business has gone from one chainsaw and a pickup in the 70's to a high-tech, GPS-centered electronic-tracking tree maintenance business.

In our last podcast of the year we hear from ACC-OC's President and Garden Grove Mayor Steve Jones along with ACC-OC CEO Heather Stratman on the important issues the Association tackled in 2017 and the challenges that lie ahead in 2018.  Plus a rousing rendition of "Orange You Glad We Asked?" where we find out that Steve Jones may not be the most famous Steve to come from Garden Grove.  Who is?  You'll have to tune in this week to find out.  From all of us at The City Square, have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Both Nicole Suydam of the Second Harvest Food Bank www.feedoc.org and Mark Lowry of the Community Action Partnership www.ocfoodbank.org are there all year long to help those in need.  You might be surprised to hear that one out of six children in Orange County have food insecurities.  And these non-profit organizations help families in every zip code in the County - even wealthier areas like Newport Beach, Villa Park and San Clemente.  What are some of their biggest challenges?  And how can you help this holiday season?  Find out by tuning in to today's show.