Santa Ana officials are the latest in OC expected to reevaluate their contracts for automated license plate readers and decide whether to turn them off amid growing privacy concerns. buff.ly/yFoxnX5

Laguna Beach city leaders are pouring half a million dollars into their effort to stop the impending closure of the city’s only emergency room. buff.ly/nmWW2s3

Anaheim officials are brainstorming a major overhaul of the city’s Disneyland Resort district but questions remain on whether the costs of those renovations will fall on taxpayers or the entertainment juggernaut. buff.ly/EaMUsmm

Santa Ana officials unveiled an aquatic center ahead of the election despite the pools not being open to the public and the accompanying restoration of a Chicano mural still underway – raising questions if the ribbon cutting was a political move. buff.ly/hh7Kbad

Irvine city leaders are cutting back on the number of city-sponsored events in an attempt to dodge a structural budget deficit that could reach nearly $40 million in less than two years. buff.ly/ykraCTl

Orange County prosecutors have to throw out large chunks of their DNA database as part of a new legal settlement, months after they quietly suspended DNA collection for at least a year. buff.ly/CbxNiZZ

One southbound lane of the Pacific Coast Highway running between El Moro and Irvine Cove closed this week after a large crack appeared on the side of a bluff which supports the highway near Laguna Beach. buff.ly/7OeMrak

Huntington Beach’s police union has spent about $100,000 as of Tuesday in independent advertising targeting sitting council members who voted against their raises and supporting their opponents. buff.ly/iPcBRwl

GKN Aerospace – the company whose chemical tank nearly exploded in Garden Grove this year– will payout $125 million as part of a settlement agreement in a civil case brought on by the OC District Attorney’s office. buff.ly/Ty7G6Ob

A company is withdrawing its proposal for a battery storage facility in South OC after residents spent years protesting the project, claiming it would be too close to homes and it would be a wildfire risk. buff.ly/QKg8uZz

OC Water District official’s efforts to continue to bulldoze critical bird habitat along the Santa Ana River is drawing intense opposition from concerned residents and activists. buff.ly/FiqJ4WE

Over 400 teamsters went on strike in Orange County this week amid stalled negotiations for a new contract, leaving hundreds of county employees picketing outside the local landfills. buff.ly/KRNK0Ul

OC leaders are set to take over two mental health campuses that have been at the core of a years-long lawsuit between the county and Mind OC and letting the nonprofit they once partnered with keep roughly $2 million as part of a settlement. buff.ly/De9bw8g

Officials in Fullerton are set to become the first in OC to temporarily turn off their Flock cameras for six months amid concerns from residents of potential misuse, leaks and mass surveillance. Will other cities follow? buff.ly/WqZcdNM

Santa Ana officials are hiring outside investigators to launch a probe into police officers caught on camera beating a man after he was thrown onto the street from the hood of a police car. buff.ly/zhxyfru

Here’s a look at how OC’s election chief is protecting the November election from voter fraud and ensuring the results are accurate. buff.ly/5zkbxu8

California’s Democratic Party is going all in on trying to get a former punter for the Minnesota Vikings into the State Assembly, potentially knocking out Republican Huntington Beach Councilwoman in a district that stretches along OC’s coast. buff.ly/Dde6uiI

Voice of OC has rolled out a new election page on the website to keep voters informed on local, county and state races as well as ballot measures before filling out their November ballot. buff.ly/XQg46Vf

Some Santa Ana City Council members and senior city staff habitually avoid questioning from OC’s working press corps, reports Voice of OC’s @NorbertoSantana. buff.ly/lgzgBKO

A Voice of OC review found Orange County officials have spent $128 million on legal settlements in the past year. buff.ly/Gx1ct2h