O.C. domestic violence hotline calls keep flowing in, officials say
Good morning. It’s Friday, Oct. 28 and Halloween is nearly upon us — we’re almost out of time to stock up for our little and not-so-little trick-or-treaters. Or, if you’re like me, perhaps the initial stash of Halloween candy you bought earlier this month has somehow vanished and must be replenished before Monday night’s revelries. I’m Carol Cormaci, a devotee of candy corn and a Halloween Eve birthday girl, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
In a much more serious vein, let’s turn our attention to the fact this is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. To mark it locally, activists held a walking vigil in solidarity with survivors of domestic violence at Lions Park in Costa Mesa Tuesday evening. Those assembled carried candles and circled the park several times to heighten public awareness of abuse that takes place in households.
The hosting organization was the nonprofit Human Options, which provides financial and legal aid, access to shelter and other forms of support to survivors of abuse. It’s troubling to hear the group has been experiencing some of highest demand they’ve ever seen for those services, according to its chief executive, Maricela Rios-Faust.
“In 2020, we saw a 46% increase in our hotline calls, and that has remained about the same,” Rios-Faust said, according to reporter Eric Licas, who wrote about the event for the Daily Pilot.
Area elected officials also took part in Tuesday night’s vigil, including state Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, O.C. Supervisor Katrina Foley, Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens and City Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds. Another notable attending and taking a turn speaking at the event was Costa Mesa’s police chief, Ron Lawrence.
Petrie-Norris and Foley related their own experiences as survivors of domestic violence, according to Licas’ story. Lawrence noted that practically every single police officer, including himself, has responded to a call reporting domestic violence.
Rios-Faust said the pandemic brought financial stress that may have contributed to increased tensions in many households and the uptick the nonprofit saw in calls for help. She added that the shift to remote work at many companies gave abusive partners or guardians more access to the people they victimize.
“A report published earlier this year by a panel including Rios-Faust, other experts and members of law enforcement found that the deaths of at least 113 people in Orange County between 2006 and 2017 were related to domestic violence,” Licas writes. “Nearly 80% of those cases involved a homicide, and 88% of those who were murdered were women.”
Many cases are miscategorized as “accidental,” according to the report, so the actual toll of abuse in the household may be much higher.
At the vigil, Foley said education and efforts by groups like Human Options are essential in pushing back against the prevalence of domestic violence, Licas writes in the article, which can be found here. She also highlighted plans by the nonprofit WISEPlace to construct nearly 50 units of permanent supportive housing for women. That project should break ground around February in Santa Ana, the supervisor said.
MORE NEWS
— Frances Muñoz, who in 1978 was appointed as a trial judge in the Harbor Judicial District in Newport Beach by Gov. Jerry Brown, died Oct. 17 at the age of 92 from cardiac arrest after a lifetime of advocacy in law, education and immigration reform. Her judicial appointment was a first for a Latina in California and perhaps the nation. Muñoz served on the bench for 23 years before retiring in 2001. Alongside other Latino legal professionals, she helped establish the Orange County Mexican American Lawyers Club in 1974, which would later be renamed the Hispanic Bar Assn. of Orange County.
— A woman in her 60s who was a passenger in a Toyota Prius died in a crash with an Amazon delivery van driver just before 8 p.m. Wednesday in Anaheim, according to police. The collision occurred in the intersection of South Dale and Orange avenues. The Toyota’s driver was a woman in her 20s and suffered moderate injuries, police said.
— A jury on Wednesday found a former Newport Beach bar employee not guilty of selling fentanyl that left one person dead and sent three others to hospitals nearly six years ago but did convict him on counts alleging he dealt cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and hydrocodone. Sean McLaughlin, 48, of Aliso Viejo, was the security manager at American Junkie, a now defunct chain bar and grill on the Balboa Peninsula, in November 2016 when four patrons overdosed. McLaughlin is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced on the lesser charges in early April.
— The Newport Beach City Council this week took citizens’ complaints of an uptick in residential burglaries to heart and voted to appoint an ad hoc committee to study the problem. City staff said authorities have made close to 200 arrests for residential crime and burglary over the last two years but stressed that a more comprehensive approach was needed to tackle the issue. In 2021 the city saw a 17.2% in home burglaries.
— Tesla recently signed a 10-year lease for a 59,487-square-foot warehouse space in Costa Mesa, north of the 405 Freeway, where it plans to open a service center. The Austin, Texas-based electric vehicle maker operates seven dealerships in Orange County, including Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, Irvine, Mission Viejo, Buena Park, Brea, Lake Forest and Costa Mesa.
LIFE & LEISURE
— Laguna Beach residents marked the 30th anniversary of their city’s dog park on Saturday, during which the local chamber of commerce recognized Friends of Laguna Beach Dog Park, a group that has worked to preserve and enhance the Laguna Canyon Road park for the enjoyment of the animals and their owners while also advocating for responsible dog ownership.
— Katie Chrisman, 19, has been crowned the new Miss Huntington Beach. She was given her new role during a pageant held at the city’s central library on Saturday, sponsored by the nonprofit Sand Dollars of Huntington Beach. Chrisman is Surf City’s 110th queen. Her court includes Princesses Roslyn Brown-Bilyeu, 18, and Coral Gangitano, 24. The three young women will receive scholarships to further their education upon the completion of their reign.
— Seated atop tiny steam engines and other rail-worthy vehicles, members of the Orange County Model Engineers lined up Tuesday in Costa Mesa’s Fairview Park on the newly rebuilt Hank Hornsveld Memorial Trestle for a ribbon-cutting ceremony that culminated in a “Big Toot” — a simultaneous sounding of horns and whistles.
CALENDAR THIS
— Halloween Zoo-Tacular takes place at the Orange County Zoo on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kids can enjoy a scavenger hunt, trick-or-treating and crafts. The first 100 children (12 and under) who arrive in costume will be given a free gift. Activities are free with paid zoo admission, which is $2 per person; ages 2 and under free. Parking on weekends is $5. The zoo is located at 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange.
— There’s a remarkable outdoor Halloween display at the Aliso Viejo home of Mike and Dawn Stanley, who this year chose to channel Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion to thrill and chill their neighbors. “Besides the hitchhiking ghost, spectators will also find familiar haunts like the clairvoyant Madame Leota in her crystal ball, the singing busts known as the Phantom Five and the Hatbox Ghost, who is known to lose his head,” my colleague Sarah Mosqueda writes of the home haunt. Follow this link to see the full story and photos. You can visit it nightly through Halloween, from 6 to 9 p.m. The address is 8 Oak Ridge Circle, Aliso Viejo.
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, I would love to read and share it in this space. Please try to keep your submission to 100 words or less and include your name and current city of residence.
I’d appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C., or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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