San Clemente officials are considering allowing Customs and Border Patrol officers to install cameras overlooking the iconic coastline to monitor for panga boats, but a host of privacy concerns are surfacing. In nearby San Juan Capistrano, resident environmental questions are mounting over a proposed battery storage site one that was tied to a grant agreement approved by local college board members who later said they didn’t know what they were voting on. While both cities are grappling with meeting state housing mandates, voters in Newport Beach could nix the city’s state-approved housing plan next year after residents spearheaded a ballot initiative that could curb the number of new homes built. Residents in another South Orange County town are taking it upon themselves to increase city hall transparency by videotaping Rancho Santa Margarita City Council meetings one of the only two OC cities that doesn’t livestream its meetings. Not far up the 5 freeway in Irvine, officials are struggling to get a consensus on adopting an environmental sustainability plan after spending $740,000 on the idea over the past four years. As Newport Beach voters are expected to consider reducing the number of homes officials can zone for, Fountain Valley officials signed off on 600 new housing units in the city that also include affordable apartments for seniors a growing group that’s struggling to find housing. Ahead of next year’s midterm elections, OC Registrar of Voters Bob Page spent two hours publicly discussing election integrity with the Huntington Beach City Council after claims surfaced that 20% of the county’s voters are unverified a notion Page disputed, finding less than 0. 1% of voters being unverified. Meanwhile, Garden Grove City Councilman Joe DoVinh publicly accused the police union of trying to intimidate him after remarks he reportedly made about the police chief on a Vietnamese talk show even publicly hinting that a police officer may have slashed his tires. Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc. org. @SpencerCustodio.
https://voiceofoc.org/2025/11/orange-countys-top-civic-news-ahead-of-thanksgiving/
