Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS. : COUNTY : Survey Lists Leading Issues
Results of a survey of residents and community leaders in Orange County about what local issues they thought most important was revealed by United Way of Orange County, and some conclusions were hardly startling.
Both residents and their leaders concurred that housing and transportation are among the county’s most important problems. Both have been topics of discussion in government and private circles for years.
What was a surprise was the divergence in opinion between citizens and leaders.
For example, community leaders ranked the problems and needs of children second only to housing, but residents ranked children eighth. Leaders ranked the plight of the homeless as their sixth-greatest concern, but the homeless never made it to the top 12 among residents.
“The fact that there are discrepancies is a finding in itself,” said Mark Baldassare, a UC Irvine social ecologist and member of the study committee.
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