OC Politics Blog | Tag Archives: OC Register

SD2: Mansoor Hammers Steel on 405 Tolling

Posted on October 29, 2014 by John Fields Posted in 2014 Elections, Allan Mansoor, Michelle Steel, SD2 3 Comments

In the mail and on Facebook today:

We’d previously questioned Michelle Steel’s position on the toll lanes as she’d had nothing to say about this Caltrans atrocity and misuse of OCTA Measure M funds which were NEVER committed for toll applications, but just for widening of the freeway. SD2 Candidate Allan Mansoor has opposed tolling from day one, and has taken strong, positive action to send the message to an OCTA Board majority that doesn’t live in SD2 (like Michelle?) and favors them. Continue reading→

Register Names New Publisher

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Editor Posted in Aaron Kushner, OC Register, Orange County Leave a comment

In a 7:53pm post on their website tonight, Freedom Communications and the Orange County Register have announced the replacement of their publisher, Aaron Kushner, with a Las Vegas casino marketing executive who has no newspaper experience. Their lead:

Richard Mirman, a former executive at Harrah’s Entertainment known in Las Vegas for his talents in casino marketing, has been named interim publisher and chief executive of the Orange County Register.

Kushner will remain in charge of their Opinion section which was weakened long ago by the departures of Steve Greenhut, Cathy Taylor, John Seiler and the death of Alan Bock — so inept and inconsequential Brian Calle, if he’s still with the company, has a new boss.

Mirman has an investment in Freedom and is clearly there to right the ship and salvage his money. Kushner has failed with the long-time Orange County “paper of record” and inadvisedly invested in other news ventures in Long Beach, Los Angeles and the Inland Empire.

The Register has laid off an army of long-time employees and has recently been hammered in this Blog, at the OC Weekly and other social media outlets for the still ongoing disaster in failing to deliver the paper to its subscribers (I am one, and have received one on-time delivery in the last 11 12 days).

10/14/Update. LA Times coverage here. OC Weekly here: Aaron Kushner Steps Down as OC Register Publisher in Favor of a…CASINO GUY?

Updated: Freedom Communications Blows First Day Delivering its own Paper

Posted on October 4, 2014 by John Fields Posted in Aaron Kushner, OC Register 4 Comments

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One More Nail in the Coffin

The Orange County Register failed today to deliver an unknown number of papers to its subscription base. Yesterday was the last day that the LA Times delivered both its own paper and the Register in Orange County.

Gustavo Arellano at OC Weekly has been reporting that the Register’s owner, Freedom Communications has stiffed the Times and owes them money for their delivery services. Writes Gustavo, “the Los Angeles Times stopped delivering the Reg because Kushner owes them mucho dinero in unpaid bills.” Continue reading→

Register Closing $27M Headquarters Sale

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Joe Hill Posted in Aaron Kushner, O.C. Register 3 Comments

The well-regarded Orange County Business Journal reports this morning that the “sale of the Santa Ana headquarters of the Orange County Register to developer Mike Harrah is expected to close within a few days”.

The transaction has been planned since late last year, and is expected to mitigate some of the debt accumulated by the Register’s questionable expansion into the IE, Long Beach and Los Angeles. The OCBJ also reports on current financial issues at the paper and its parent: Continue reading→

The Register gets one right — NO rent control for HB

Posted on August 15, 2014 by John Fields Posted in Huntington Beach, OC Register, Orange County Leave a comment

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We know the Orange County Register’s been swirling the bowl for some time, so it’s refreshing to see their Editorial staff get one right once in a while, and on a local issue and especially when they’re taking a Libertarian stance for a FREE MARKET. Unfortunately, they didn’t mention the principal in this editorial from yesterday, but there’s still some comfort to be had among who’s left in their R. C. Hoiles following: H.B. council right to keep rent control off ballot.

Their lead,

In a surprising reversal, the Huntington Beach City Council voted rightfully Monday to remove a ballot measure that would have asked voters to allow them to place rent controls on mobile home parks in the city. The council voted 4-3 in July to place the measure on the November ballot, but in another 4-3 vote this week the council overturned that decision. Switching their original positions, Council members Jill Hardy and Jim Katapodis voted to remove the ordinance, while Councilman Dave Sullivan voted to keep it. Mr. Sullivan originally voted against placing the measure on the ballot because he disagreed with changes. Continue reading→

Is it time for Irvine to give the OC Fire Authority the boot?

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Joe Hill Posted in Irvine, OCFA, Todd Spitzer 1 Comment

Irvine can replace the union-hostaged OC Fire Authority

Irvine Councilmembers Jeff Lalloway and Christina Shea have just been handed a great opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade and prove that their city can actually run something like a business. With the Great Park debacle not taking any of the DA’s time but consuming headlines, reputations and, hopefully, Larry Agran’s re-election campaign (Beth Krom will not be running for Mayor), this hit last week on Irvine certainly wasn’t welcome:

Per the OC Register on 8/7: An Orange County Superior Court judge has ruled against the Orange County Fire Authority’s plan to return millions of dollars to cities that overpaid for firefighting service, dealing a blow to the agency’s efforts to appease communities that have threatened to leave the fire authority if they aren’t reimbursed. Judge William D. Claster’s ruling backs county leaders’ efforts to prevent the fire authority from paying millions to Irvine, Laguna Woods, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Juan Capistrano and the county, who for years have been overcharged for their fire services. The county argued that the proposed payments to the members would have amounted to a gift of public funds.

Irvine is the second largest of the 23 OC cities that take fire services from the OCFA (Santa Ana was financially pressured to outsource their operations to OCFA last year): Continue reading→