News

Every year the County of Orange prepares a report on the status of the Community Facilities Districts that were used to finance the infrastructure in Ladera Ranch and Rancho Mission Viejo that are assessed to residents through property taxes. 

See the report below:

Local Accountability Report FYE 2023.pdf

Early paydown of bond debt to save Agency approximately $54 million

Irvine, Calif. - January 25, 2024

As part of the Transportation Corridor Agencies’ (TCA) Strategic Plan, the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (F/ETCA) has executed an early paydown of $60 million in senior lien bond debt.

The early paydown of bond principal – bonds that were issued in 2013 and had a maturity date of 2042 – saves the Agency approximately $54 million in interest payments. The F/ETCA paid off the bonds with cash reserves when the bonds were callable after January 15, 2024.

“This early paydown of bond debt is another example of the commitment both Agencies have to fiscal stewardship, as well as fulfilling the plan of action laid out in our Strategic Plan aimed at overall debt reduction,” said F/ETCA Board Chair and San Juan Capistrano City Council Member John Taylor.

The Agencies plan by 2030 to pay down another $920 million of bonds early, saving an additional $806 million in interest. This future debt reduction, when combined with the current reductions of $1.389 billion, will collectively reduce debt by $3.1 billion.

“Strong fiscal management is core to the Agencies’ past and future success,” shared Ryan Chamberlain, TCA Chief Executive Officer. “Protecting the ability to fund operations and capital improvement projects, while positioning the Agencies to take advantage of debt reduction and early paydown opportunities, aligns with the fiscal management objectives outlined in the Boards’ Strategic Plan.”

The San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency (SJHTCA) and F/ETCA are two joint powers authorities created to plan, finance, construct and operate the 420 lane miles that comprise the 73, 133, 241 and 261 Toll Roads.

The Toll Roads have been providing a choice for drivers for more than 30 years and the tolls collected are used to repay the debt incurred to construct the system and fund on-going operations and improvements.

The Toll Roads system, which represents 20% of Orange County’s highways, is the largest toll road network in California. 

This is great news for users of the Toll Roads and shows a substantial amount of financial savvy on the part of management.

Supervisor Foley Supports OC District Attorney and Law Enforcement to Support Prosecution and Accountability for Increased Burglaries

ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA — Monday, May 22nd, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley and the Board of Supervisors voted to approve the purchase of new technology to support local law enforcement’s public safety and criminal apprehension efforts.  

The Board approved the purchase of a cellular site simulator for the OC Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), improving OCSD’s ability to locate missing children, at-risk individuals, and fugitives. The Board also approved the purchase of a 35-foot fire boatfor the OCSD Harbor Patrol to conduct law enforcement patrols, fight fires, and serve as emergency first responders. 

“We cannot sit back and tolerate the sharp rise of well-organized burglaries and robberies in our homes and businesses.” said Supervisor Foley “These recent law enforcement efforts demonstrate that Orange County will continue to lead with new strategies and technologies to keep our neighborhoods safe. I remain committed to working with the District Attorney, local law enforcement, and our state and federal partners to find the most effective way possible to hold criminals accountable.” 

Today’s votes come on the heels of Supervisor Foley joining the Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and local law enforcement last week to announce new efforts to combat residential, commercial, and smash and grab burglaries across Orange County, at least 20 of which were linked to transnational criminal efforts.  

During the press conference, District Attorney Spitzer announced 140 charged in Orange County – at least 20 linked to Chilean transnational crime ring. He also announced that for the first time, 7 of those charged received hate crime sentencing enhancements for deliberately burglarized Asian American homes. Click here to read the District Attorney’s announcement for more information about the charges.  

In her remarks (33:54) Supervisor Foley discussed her personal experience and stories she has heard in the community in the last year. The circumstances of these cases remain largely confidential as cases are ongoing.  

• In November of 2022, on the evening of the election, the home of Supervisor Foley’s in-laws was burglarized along with the homes on the street in their neighborhood in University Hills at UC Irvine while they were watching election results at a different location.  
• A home robbery in San Juan Capistrano while a teenage girl was home downstairs. No injuries were reported. 
• A home robbery in Laguna Niguel in the middle of the day while the resident was home.  
• A home robbery in broad daylight, where a woman was taking a shower at the time of the break-in and was forced to sit on her couch with a towel on while her home was ransacked.   
• A burglary in Dana Point where multiple individuals burglarized a home, which was reported as a potential string of burglaries up to Yorba Linda and all the way to Santa Monica and Santa Clarita. 
• 2 different vehicles drove into the Neiman Marcus store at Fashion Island at 2 different points of entry, where they stole $100,000 in handbags. The Newport Beach Police Department reported that 2 of the 4 suspects were arrested in a high-speed chase that went into Los Angeles County. 
• A vehicle smashed into the same Neiman Marcus store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach and burglarized the store. The Newport Beach Police Department reported 4 arrests were made, all from Los Angeles County. 

The California Chamber of Commerce has named the following as job killer bills for 2023. Please note SB 525, which would increase minimum wage to $25 - the highest in the nation.

Labor and Employment

AB 524 (Wicks; D-Oakland) Expansion of Litigation Under FEHA. Exposes employers to costly litigation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act by asserting that any adverse employment action was in relation to the employee’s family caregiver status, which is broadly defined to include any employee who contributes to the care of any person of their choosing, and creates a de facto accommodation requirement that will burden small businesses.

AB 1156 (Bonta; D-Alameda) Expands Costly Presumption of Injury. Significantly increases workers’ compensation costs for public and private hospitals by presuming certain diseases and injuries are caused by the workplace and establishes an extremely concerning precedent for expanding presumptions into the private sector.

SB 525 (Durazo; D-Los Angeles) Costly Minimum Wage Increase. Imposes significant cost on health care facilities and any employer who works with health care facilities by mandating increase in minimum wage to $25.

SB 365 (Wiener: D-San Francisco) Undermines Arbitration. Discriminates against use of arbitration agreements by requiring trial courts to continue trial proceedings during any appeal regarding the denial of a motion to compel, undermining arbitration and divesting courts of their inherent right to stay proceedings.

SB 399 (Wahab; D-Hayward) Bans Employer Speech. Chills employer speech regarding religious and political matters, including unionization. Is likely unconstitutional under the First Amendment and preempted by the National Labor Relations Act.

SB 616 (Gonzalez; D-Long Beach) Costly Sick Leave Expansion on All Employers. Imposes new costs and leave requirements on employers of all sizes, by more than doubling existing sick leave mandate, which is in addition to all other enacted leave mandates that small employers throughout the state are already struggling with to implement and comply.

SB 627 (Smallwood-Cuevas) Onerous Return to Work Mandate. Imposes an onerous and stringent process to hire employees based on seniority alone for nearly every industry, including hospitals, retail, restaurants, movie theaters, and franchisees, which will delay hiring and eliminates contracts for at-will employment.

SB 723 (Durazo; D-Los Angeles) Onerous Return to Work Mandate. Imposes an onerous and stringent process for specific employers to return employees to the workforce for specified industries, including hotels and restaurants that have been disproportionally impacted by this pandemic, and removes guardrails on existing law by making mandate permanent and significantly broadening the applicability of the law.

SB 809 (Smallwood-Cuevas; D-Los Angeles) Prohibits Consideration of Conviction History in Employment. Prohibits nearly every employer from considering conviction history of an applicant or existing employee in employment decisions and imposes cumbersome process on employers that are legally not allowed to hire individuals with certain convictions.

Taxation

AB 259 (Lee; D-San Jose) / ACA 3 (Lee; D-San Jose) Wealth Tax. Seeks to impose a massive tax increase upon all forms of personal property or wealth, whether tangible or intangible, despite California already having the highest income tax in the country. This tax increase will drive high-income earners out of the State as well as the revenue they contribute to the General Fund.

Housing

AB 68 (Ward; D-San Diego) Quashes Housing. Worsens California’s existing housing crisis by preventing local governments from permitting new housing units in most of their jurisdictions.

Climate/Energy

SB 12 (Stern; D-Canoga Park) Arbitrary Greenhouse Gas Target. Arbitrarily changes the State’s GHG reduction goal from 40% of 1990 levels by 2030 to 55%. By the State’s own estimate this proposal will force 17 million gas-powered cars off the road in the next 10 years.

SBX1 2 (Skinner; D-Oakland) Windfall Profits Tax. Sets an arbitrary cap on the amount of profits that a refiner operating in the state of California can earn over a quarterly basis. This measure would further diminish supply, discourages operational efficiencies, and would limit the amount of capital a refiner could reinvest into their infrastructure to support California’s long-term climate goals. Signed. Chapter 1, Statutes of 2023–24 First Extraordinary Session.

Take Pilates under the stars with Jody Salamirad and Core Town Pilates. 

Includes Pilates, some lite bites and cocktails!

Be a part of this epic event by registering at coretownpilates.com/events.

Everybody loves NETWORKING and it is an important tool in spreading the marketing message about your business. There are obviously quite a few current and potential customers in Ladera Ranch and Rancho Mission Viejo but the Ladera Rancho Chamber has partnered with the Chambers in Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and Lake Forest to expand that reach considerably in 2023.

Starting in March, we will be rotating the quarterly Mixer between each location to open up new connection opportunities! 

As usual, each event will feature food, beverages and an "Opportunity" raffle drawing of at least 12 items. Proceeds benefit the host Chamber. 

Participation is FREE if you are a Chamber member or $20 if you are not. We look forward to seeing you!

On Friday, August 12th the Chamber partnered with LARCS at the last concert of the year in bringing 25 area businesses out for a Business Expo!

The concert provided businesses an opportunity to connect with large volumes of residents at an in-person event. The concerts draw 3,000 - 4,000 people and represent the largest gatherings of people all year long in Ladera Ranch. 

The businesses in return provided activities, raffles, games, contests and giveaways and served to entertain area youth even during the concert until it got dark.

Everyone had a GREAT time and we look forward to doing it again next year! Hopefully with some cooler weather since temperatures topped 90 degrees earlier in the day!

On Monday August 1st and Tuesday August 2nd, Orange County Public Works performed what is known by pavement experts as an a/c grind and overlay: a new fresh top coat of asphalt to the rest of us laypersons!

This was a project our Chamber of Commerce asked for in 2021 and OCPW was able to incorporate as part of the larger south Antonio Parkway project that will provide the same treatment from the Covenant Hills gate entrance at Antonio Parkway, through Rancho Mission Viejo, down to Ortega Highway set to start on Monday, August 8th. The majority of the work will occur at night.

The work on Daisy Street refreshes the top layer, which should be good for another 20 years. The Chamber thanks Orange County Public Works and 5th District Supervisor Lisa Bartlett and her team for a job very well done!

Street maintenance is an ongoing effort as the community has passed its 22nd birthday with much of the original construction still intact, but showing its age. 

Several other streets are getting close to needing refreshes as well including Crown Valley Parkway, Windmill, Dorrance, Cecil Pasture and Sellas. We will continue to provide the community with updates!

The Chamber has been working with Orange County Public Works and 5th District Supervisor Lisa Bartlett's Office for several years on a couple of these proposed projects and they will commence August 1st!

We apologize in advance for any inconveniences they may cause the community but they will be worth it in the long term!

We'll let your know if the schedule changes in any way.