On track to be completed by the end of this year, the zoo is undergoing various construction projects to bring in new animals, update animal enclosures and improve the zoo’s landscaping and infrastructure.

A new enclosure — dubbed River’s Edge — will feature two to four male South American giant river otters. Additionally, various primate species, including up to 10 spider monkeys, will be able to travel above the otters and into their own enclosure, Zoo Director Ethan Fisher said.

Construction on River’s Edge broke ground in early 2022 and is on track to be completed by the end of the year.

Other exhibit updates, on track to also be finished up this year, include a new alligator enclosure and improved monkey habitats located in the zoo’s primate forest.

The zoo is also working to complete its Pathway Improvement Project, an effort to convert its dirt paths to concrete. Several paths are already completed, although there are still detours for the walkways still under construction.

The children’s zoo — in addition to getting a new alligator — recently opened its Goat Interaction Yard where guests can walk into the goat enclosure to pet the animals. Several buildings have also been repainted.

Another completed project is the butterfly exhibit, which features new butterflies each week from South America and Asia. The exhibit is open every day from May to September, although you might have to wait in an online queue before being able to enter.

While several projects are slated to be completed by the end of 2025, the zoo is continuing to fundraise for its north end expansion and additional primate enclosure space, Fisher said.

“We want to make sure we’re doing right by them,” Fisher said.

Future projects also include the zoo’s Education HIVE building, which would serve as a classroom and reception area for school field trips, and a security wall on the north side of the zoo.

In addition to construction projects, the zoo also began selling beer and wine at its onsite cafe this summer. Guests who are at least 21 years old can purchase alcohol and carry it with them as they walk around the exhibits.

So far, the zoo has spent around $9 million on construction. The city of Santa Ana and grants obtained by the Friends of the Santa Ana Zoo have helped with funding, Fisher said.

The construction projects were brought on after the Santa Ana Zoo lost its accreditation from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums in 2017. AZA accredits zoos based on their commitments to the health and safety of their animals and guest engagement and education.

In its report to the zoo, AZA cited a lack of modernization in the Santa Ana Zoo’s primate enclosures. The zoo reapplied for accreditation in 2022 and was told to continue making improvements, Fisher said.

The zoo submitted another application for AZA accreditation in March. Fisher and other zoo staff will travel to the AZA national conference in Florida in September to present before the AZA board, in hopes of securing accreditation, Fisher said.

AZA accreditation is not required for a zoo to remain open. The Santa Ana Zoo is still licensed under the federal Department of Agriculture.

The Santa Ana Zoo was first accredited by the AZA in 1985, but the zoo itself opened in 1952.

The zoo was originally home to more than 50 monkeys due to a stipulation by Joseph Prentice, who donated the land for the zoo as long as it kept at least 50 monkeys there.

The stipulation ended about two and a half years ago, Fisher said, and the zoo now has about 35 monkeys, ranging from larger white-handed gibbons to pygmy marmosets, one of the smallest monkey species.

General tickets to the Santa Ana Zoo, located at 1801 E. Chestnut Ave., are $14. Guests can purchase tickets at the zoo’s entrance or online, where more information about the zoo and its operating hours can also be found.

The zoo has extended hours during the month of July. It is open until 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. It is also open until 7:30p.m. on Wed, July 30, with ticket sales ending one hour before close. The zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all other days.

In a 4-1 vote, the council denied an appeal of the planning commission’s earlier approval of the project, slated for 16800 Magnolia St. Those four councilmembers said they did not see a reason for the planning commission’s decision to be revisited.

“It’s going to be a big change for Fountain Valley,” Councilmember Patrick Harper said. “But with regards to the appeal and the items that were mentioned, I don’t think there’s a basis for appealing.”

Related: Fountain Valley City Council will consider a multi-use housing development plan on former Boomers! site

The planning commission originally approved the housing development on July 11, but the Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility, a non-profit advocacy group that challenges developments believed to violate environmental regulations, initiated an appeal, requesting a new environmental impact report to be conducted on the project.

SAFER argued that there could be unknown environmental consequences not initially considered by the planning commission.

Mayor Ted Bui, the only council member who supported the project’s appeal, expressed similar concerns about the environment and traffic control. He called for the development plan to be sent back to the planning commission for additional hearings and evaluations.

The high-rise housing development at 16800 Magnolia St. is one of many projects aimed at addressing additional housing needs in Fountain Valley. Bui said he believed the plan needed more consideration to ensure it was not rushed through the approval process.

“A project of this magnitude, we need to look at it carefully,” Bui said. “We’re setting precedent for many other projects that are coming down the pipeline.”

In an almost three-hour process, the City Council heard from the housing developers, representatives from SAFER and Fountain Valley residents.

Some residents expressed concerns about increased traffic, parking availability and environmental impacts, including pollution and air quality.

The developers said parking would be restricted to the residential spaces and there would be no significant impacts air and noise quality levels.

The City Council denied the appeal but added a requirement for the development to include in its lease that residents and guests could not park in adjacent commercial parking lots.

Additionally, council members discussed a new traffic light and a barrier to block off a common illegal U-turn on Magnolia Street. While the housing developers expressed support for this, the City Council will have to request the California Department of Transportation to install both the light and the barrier.

“I will ask staff to make sure we do everything that we can to try and provide that to the residents,” Councilmember Glen Grandis said. “It’s the least we can do.”

The housing plan — submitted by the Holland Partner Group — consists of two seven-story buildings and two seven-story parking structures. There will be 4,460 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, and 657 residential apartment units. It includes 980 parking spaces throughout the development.

Additionally, the housing development proposed an affordable housing agreement that will secure 78 deed-restricted low-income units.

The site is just off the 405 freeway, taking the place of the former Boomers! location — a family center with arcades, mini-golf, and go-kart racing — which closed in 2020.

With the project’s approval by the City Council, Holland Partner Group can begin its work on the development.

The City Council will take up an appeal on Tuesday, July 15, regarding the project that the planning commission greenlit on July 11.

The development was submitted by the Holland Partner Group in March 2025 and is located at 16800 Magnolia St., just off the 405 freeway. It would take the place of the former Boomers! location — a family center with arcades, mini-golf, and go-kart racing — which closed in 2020.

The proposed plan consists of two seven-story buildings and two seven-story parking structures. There will be 4,460 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 657 residential apartment units.

Additionally, the housing development proposed an affordable housing agreement that will secure 78 deed-restricted low-income units.

The City Council considered initiating a council appeal of the planning commission’s approval of the development on June 23. The meeting ended without the council coming to a decision, which allowed the planning commission’s approval to remain intact until the council revisited the appeal.

The appeal being considered at Tuesday’s meeting was initiated by the Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility, a group that challenges development projects believed to violate environmental regulations.

In a letter to the planning commission, SAFER said it “requests that the Planning Commission refrain from taking any action on the Project” and instead produce a study for a project-specific environmental impact report (EIR).

The appeal said there could be significant impacts that were not considered under the plan’s final environmental impact report and that a new EIR is necessary for the plan to be approved.

Principal planner Steven Ayers and his team conducted an analysis of the appeal, which found insufficient explanations for why the planning commission’s approval should be revoked by the City Council. Ayers recommended that the council conduct a public hearing and deny SAFER’s appeal to reaffirm the planning commission’s approval, he wrote in the analysis.

This would once again reinstate the planning commission’s approval of the 16800 Magnolia St. project.

The housing development is part of an effort to provide 4,839 additional residential units to Fountain Valley by 2029, mandated by the state of California’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment. The RHNA follows State Housing Law and quantifies housing needs in cities throughout California.

The 16800 Magnolia St. housing development is one of many plans that the Fountain Valley Planning Commission is considering to reach the number of required housing units.

The commission also recently approved the Euclid and Heil project — a high-density residential development with 626 units — located on a former strawberry field at 16300 Euclid St.

The Fountain Valley City Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Meetings are held at the Fountain Valley City Hall, located at 10200 Slater Ave.

Starting Saturday, July 12, the registrar is hosting several workshops to hear from Orange County voters on polling and ballot drop box locations, accessibility of polling stations, language access, voting outreach programs and safety procedures.

The workshops — several of which offer other languages, including Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese — run through the rest of the month and into August.

They are an effort to solicit feedback on how the county can update and improve its Election Administration Plan, which governs how the voting process works in Orange County, said Bob Page, the registrar of voters.

Workshops, which can last between one and one and a half hours, will be split into two categories: general public workshops and accessibility language workshops.

General public workshops are opportunities for anyone to provide feedback. Accessibility language workshops — in addition to having translators for various languages — will focus on how polling centers can better accommodate those whose first language is not English.

Rooms will be divided into five sections — voting and ballot drop box locations, accessibility of voting facilities, language assistance and accessibility services, voter education and outreach programs and safety and security of the election process — where attendees can provide verbal or written feedback, said Page.

Attendees can participate in one or all of the categories. There will also be a packet for attendees who would rather write down all of their feedback instead of visiting each station separately.

“We wanted to give them an opportunity to be comfortable providing feedback in the method they want in the areas they want,” said Page.

The Voters Choice Act, a state law that lays out how counties administer an all-mail ballot election system with ballot drop-off locations and vote centers, requires the registrar to hold a public feedback forum after initial changes are made to the election plan. But Page said his office is hosting the series of workshops — before the plan is edited — to give local voters more involvement in the process.

“We don’t want to just do the minimum required,” Page said. “We want to make sure that we’re getting feedback from as many different people as we can.”

Other factors the registrar is considering for updates include federal and state law, data from previous elections, best practices determined by the registrar and the county budget, Page said.

“The community input and feedback is a very important part of any update we make, but that has to be balanced with those other four elements in terms of what is actually in the plan,” Page said.

Aside from the 15 scheduled workshops, the registrar has invited more than 250 organizations to schedule small group meetings. Many of these organizations are involved in voter outreach and the voting process by lending their facilities for polling locations and drop-off boxes, Page said.

The registrar plans to complete the initial feedback process in the first week of August, Page said. The registrar’s office will then compile summaries of the feedback to be published online and create the first draft of the new 2026-2030 EAP.

“I’ve got a deadline to meet and I’m trying to do my best to give people as much time as possible and as many different formats to provide input,” Page said.

The secretary of state has requested the final draft of the EAP by Dec. 1, although by law it is due 120 days before the June 2026 primary election, which would be in February 2026, Page said.

After the first draft of the EAP is published, there will be a 14-day public review period during which people can provide additional comments on the plan. The registrar’s office has also scheduled a public hearing for Sept. 25 at the Irvine City Hall for in-person feedback.

The registrar will make necessary changes based on feedback received online and at the hearing, Page said. The office will then post a final draft that receives the same 14-day review before final changes are made and the EAP is sent to the secretary of state.

The election plan spanning 2021-2025 is available in 10 languages on the registrar of voters’ website. More information about the workshops or how to submit a feedback form online can also be found on the registrar’s website.

Workshops are scheduled for:

• Saturday, July 12: San Juan Capistrano Community Center (25925 Camino Del Avion), 10-11:30 a.m.

• Monday, July 14: Buena Park Community Center (6688 Beach Blvd.), 6-7 p.m.; Korean language meeting

• Wednesday, July 16: Los Olivos Community Center in Irvine (101 Alfonso), 6-7 p.m.; Farsi interpretation available

• Thursday, July 17: Delhi Center in Santa Ana (505 E. Central Ave.), 6-7 p.m.; Spanish language meeting

• Saturday, July 19: Fountain Valley Recreation Center (16400 Brookhurst St.), 10-11 a.m.; Vietnamese language meeting

• Monday, July 21: South Coast Chinese Cultural Center in Irvine (9 Truman St.), 6-7 p.m.; Chinese language meeting

• Tuesday, July 22: Southwest Senior Center in Santa Ana (2201 W. McFadden Ave.), 6-7:30 p.m.

• Wednesday, July 23: Zoom meeting with ASL interpretation available, 6-7 p.m.

• Thursday, July 24: West Anaheim Youth Center (320 S. Beach Blvd.), 6-7 p.m., Tagalog interpretation available

• Saturday, July 26: Huntington Beach Central Library (7111 Talbert Ave.), 10-11:30 a.m.

• Monday, July 28: Northwood Community Center in Irvine (4531 Bryan Ave.), 6-7 p.m., Japanese interpretation available

• Tuesday, July 29: Norman P. Murray Community Center in Mission Viejo (24932 Veterans Way), 6-7:30 p.m.

• Wednesday, July 30: Buena Park Library (7150 La Palma Ave.), 6-7 p.m.; Hindi interpretation available

• Thursday, July 31: East Anaheim Community Center (8201 E. Santa Ana Canyon Rd.), 6-7 p.m.; Gujarati interpretation available

• Saturday, Aug. 2: Brea Community Center (695 Madison Way), 10-11:30 a.m.

Nationally speaking, more cases have been reported halfway through 2025 than any other year since the disease was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000.

In California, 17 cases have been reported thus far in 2025. In 2024, the California Department of Public Health reported only 15 cases throughout the entire year.

Together, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have reported eight of those cases this year. However, the data only covers the first half of the year, so cases in each county may still surpass last year’s totals.

Los Angeles County has reported six cases since January 2025. Four are residents who have traveled internationally or to domestic areas experiencing a transmission of measles.

In 2024, there were seven total cases in L.A. County, four of which involved individuals traveling through LAX while infectious, and only one case was a resident of the county.

Riverside County reported one case in April from an adult resident who traveled internationally. This was the first case in Riverside since 2018.

Orange County reported one case in February from an infant returning home after international travel. In 2024, Orange County reported two unrelated cases: an infant returning home from international travel and an adult who traveled internationally.

San Bernardino County has reported no cases in 2025. Its last measles case was in December 2023, said Francis Delapaz, a spokesperson for the county’s Department of Public Health.

Almost all of the cases reported in Southern California have been a result of international or domestic travel.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that unvaccinated travelers receive both doses of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine at least two weeks before international travel. Receiving two doses of the vaccine provides 97% protection against measles, whereas one dose provides 93%, according to the CDC.

There have been 27 measles outbreaks — defined by the CDC as three or more related cases — throughout the U.S. so far this year. There are no active measles outbreaks in California, according to the CDC.

The increase in cases is concentrated in the southwest, stemming from an outbreak in West Texas, according to the CDC. Texas has reported 753 cases so far this year, many affecting unvaccinated school children, according to the CDC.

There were only 285 total cases of measles in 2024 in the U.S. This year, the number of cases has hit 1,288 as of July 9.

The CDC reports that measles is on the rise due to a global increase in the viral infection, which can lead to unvaccinated travelers bringing the disease home with them, and a decrease in kindergarten-aged children receiving the MMR vaccine.

Riverside County reported that almost 96% of children entering kindergarten were fully vaccinated. LA County and Orange County reported over 97% of kindergarteners were vaccinated.

San Bernardino County was below the target percentage, with only 93.5% of kindergarteners fully vaccinated in 2024.

In 2025, more than a third of all measles cases are amongst people aged 5-19. And 92% of all cases are people who are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status.

So far, there have been 162 hospitalizations due to measles this year, and three confirmed deaths — two children and one adult — none of whom had the MMR vaccine. The deaths occurred in Texas and New Mexico, the two states with the highest number of measles cases.

Concerns over the effectiveness of local efforts to combat hate and countywide reporting systems led to the study, the grand jury said in its recently released report, “Hate: What is Orange County Doing About It?”

The review looked at hate crime data from 2023 and grand jury members conducted various surveys, field visits and interviews of city officials and community leaders over the last year.

In 2023, Orange County reported 95 hate crimes, a decrease from 112 in 2022 and the first decline in hate crimes since 2016. However, the Anti-Defamation League said it documented 88 antisemitic incidents alone in the Orange County/Long Beach region in 2023, an increase from 55 in 2022.

“Official data may underrepresent the true scope of the problem,” the grand jury surmised.

Incomplete reports from at least four cities and the exclusion of non-criminal hate incidents contributed to discrepancies in Orange County data, the grand jury said. Barriers to reporting — such as fear of retaliation and distrust in law enforcement — have also led to underreporting.

The grand jury is recommending the creation of a centralized reporting portal or mechanism for local law enforcement agencies and nonprofit organizations to use to streamline the reporting process and improve data capture.

Several of the grand jury’s recommendations are targeted at the Board of Supervisors and its seven-member Human Relations Commission, which oversees issues of prejudice and discrimination within the county. The size of the committee was shrunk last year, meetings became less frequent and law enforcement and city representation largely removed.

In June 2024, the supervisors also ended the county’s partnership with Groundswell, a nonprofit organization that secured grants and funding for human relations programs not directly supported by the board.

The decisions by the supervisors “raised concerns about the county’s commitment to addressing systemic bias, hate crimes, and discrimination,” the grand jury wrote.

Second District Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said he would raise the commission’s role with his colleagues.

“I fear we have limited the capacity of this commission to help provide a safe forum for the community,” he said in a statement. “I will be bringing the need to strengthen the work of the commission back to the board and hope that my colleagues will be able to support addressing hate in our culture.”

The grand jury argues the commission should be reinstated to its previous size of 11 members and scope.

The commission should also report semiannually to the board starting at the end of August, and form a coalition of community leaders and city and law enforcement representatives by the end of September, the grand jury recommends.

The last recommendation for the supervisors from the grand jury is to be prepared to allocate funding to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and OC Asian Pacific Islanders Community Alliance, which are facing funding cuts in the next two years, but have shown successes with hate crime prevention.

In 2024, the OCDA received a $1.4 million federal grant to help prosecute hate crimes and work with community partners on outreach to targeted communities. The grant expires in 2027.

Currently, the Human Relations Commission is working on creating a credible data collection infrastructure to standardize hate crime reporting, Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley said in response to the grand jury’s recommendation that the Sheriff’s Department and nonprofits create a streamlined reporting process.

“Their recommendation is what we’re doing, but that takes time,” Foley said in an interview. “The first step is to establish a credible methodology. The second step is to move into a growth period.”

And returning the seven-member commission to its original size is an “arbitrary number,” she said. “There’s no magic number of how to respond and to stamp out hate in the community.”

The district attorney is “extremely concerned” that the jury’s recommendation to create a reporting portal within the Sheriff’s Department will only create additional layers of reporting, instead of actually streamlining the process, OCDA officials said in a statement.

It is the District Attorney’s Office that reports all hate crimes to the California Department of Justice. And, county prosecutors determine whether something can be prosecuted as a hate crime or hate incident.

“We have been advocating for accurate and complete reporting within the definitions that the legislature has established of what constitutes a hate crime,” the OCDA’s statement said. “We cannot effectively combat hate in Orange County if we do not have accurate data on which we can rely on and based on that data we can assign resources appropriately.

“We are working with the county CEO’s office to respond to the grand jury recommendations in a way that highlights the necessity of accurate and complete reporting of hate crimes in a way that does not add additional bureaucracy and unnecessary confusion,” the statement added.

In addition to being tasked by the grand jury to create its own reporting mechanism, the OC Sheriff’s Department should increase its educational and outreach efforts, especially when it comes to encouraging the reporting of hate crimes, the grand jury recommended.

The Sheriff’s Department should also expand its Interfaith Advisory Council to more faith communities, including multiple congregations, and work more closely with Black- and Jewish-led organizations, two demographics most impacted by hate crimes in Orange County, the jury said in its report.

Only two out of three schools in Orange County collect data on hate crimes and incidents that occur on their campus, a grand jury survey of school districts reported. Just over half provide formal training on hate crimes to their staff, the grand jury said, and very few receive funding specifically for addressing hate crimes.

“Hate is a learned behavior. Early intervention is essential for promoting tolerance and respect,” the jury wrote in its findings, recommending the OC Department of Education develop better databases tracking incidents.

The jury is also recommending that the county education department provide a centralized database of resources and programs for K-12 schools and focus on age-appropriate curriculum in kindergarten through fifth grade to address the problem of hate crimes in school.

The full grand jury report, including all of its findings and recommendations, can be found at ocgrandjury.org.

Kirby joins former NFL player Chris Kluwe and Huntington Beach Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark, who have already declared their candidacies for the open seat in 2026.

Kirby grew up in Riverside County and spent 12 years as a U.S. Coast Guard petty officer. After leaving the Coast Guard in 2023, he founded Krieger Gaming, a veteran and first responders nonprofit that aims to connect people experiencing mental health problems or facing isolation to come together through video games.

“One of my deep passions is mental health and actually getting people the help they need,” Kirby, a Huntington Beach resident, said.

Kirby recently earned a bachelor’s degree in science and environmental science from the American Military University. But in mid-June — after watching the military intervention during the protests in L.A. and growing unhappy with what he called the Trump administration’s “misuse of power” — Kirby said he decided to run for office.

“Prior to that, I had no interest in being a politician,” Kirby said. “But I feel like this is going to be the best way for me to actually push forward ideas that I believe are going to benefit all Californians, not just picking sides or playing party politics.”

Kirby, who is running as a Democrat, said he has always been unaffiliated with a political party, but running as an independent would pit him against both parties. He said his voting behavior and platform mostly align with the Democratic Party.

His priority focus is protecting individual and constitutional rights, especially the freedom of speech and the importance of giving everyday citizens a voice, he said. Kirby also wants to improve the problem of homelessness in the 72nd Assembly District.

“We have all of these things that we’re not actually solving, we’re just moving them around from place to place,” Kirby said.

In addition to focusing on mental health and protecting the coastlines and water systems, Kirby said he wants to invite the people affected by state legislation into the lawmaking process itself.

“I want to start a program that I want to push forward to the state of California, where we peer review all of our documents,” Kirby said. “It should be peer reviewed by people that it affects.”

The 72nd Assembly District spans from Seal Beach to Laguna Beach and juts inland to include  Aliso Viejo, Lake Forest and Laguna Woods. Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, is running for a spot on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Like Kirby, Kluwe — a former player for the Minnesota Vikings — is also a first-time candidate. He announced his bid for election after his recent arrest during a Huntington Beach City Council meeting regarding the installation of a plaque with a MAGA acrostic outside the city library.

Van Der Mark was the first to announce her campaign for the open Assembly seat. She sits on the Huntington Beach City Council and previously served one year as the city’s mayor.

E-bikes have grown in popularity over the years as a way for children to get farther and around more quickly than a regular bike would take them, without needing a license to drive. While peddling, a bike rider can typically reach speeds of 12 to 14 mph; the e-bikes that many children are using can go 20 to 28 mph.

Some e-bikes do not even require their rider to use the pedals to reach those speeds.

In 2024, the Huntington Beach Police Department reported 147 e-bike crashes. As of June this year, the number of crashes has surpassed last year’s and is expected to reach more than 160, according to HBPD.

More than 50% of those crashes involved riders under the age of 18, and children have been left with concussions, fractured bones and serious trauma injuries. Since 2019, e-bike-related trauma injuries have increased by 1,500%, Children’s Hospital of Orange County officials report.

“We’re seeing very dangerous consequences of untrained, underage e-bike users,” Amy Frias, community educator for CHOC said during a press conference held Wednesday, June 25. “The surge in trauma cases really should be a wake-up call for parents.”

Reporting the most e-bike collisions in the county, HBPD has developed a new training program to reduce those numbers.

Believed to be the nation’s first police-led safety training for young e-bike riders, the 70-minute, behind-the-wheel style course is led by police instructors.

From braking techniques to prevention tactics, the children and their parents are guided through five hands-on stations designed to teach young riders about real road situations in a controlled environment. Parents are required to take the course alongside their children so they can reinforce safety training at home.

“We’re not looking for perfection,” Sgt. Mike Thomas, director of the training program launched last month, said. “We’re looking for progression. We want to see that they’re receptive to the training.”

So far, the training is mandatory only for riders who have received a ticket or citation, but is open and free to the public. Each student is graded by police instructors throughout the training, who will pass or fail them at the end of the stations.

“The mindset that the instructors have is that when that child walks away, do we feel that they can have the basic skills in order to safely operate an e-bike on the roadway,” Thomas said.

While the training remains optional, the pass/fail system encourages parents to make the final decision on whether their children can safely operate an e-bike on public roads.

Alysce Lagbao lives in Huntington Beach and said she decided to finally buy her son, Carter, an e-bike. Since most of his friends had one, she knew the purchase was inevitable, she said. The two attended the safety training together.

“It should be something that is almost like a requirement,” Lagbao said. “You get an e-bike, and they go fast and it’s dangerous and so much can happen. I think (training) starts at home, and to get the parents involved is very important.”

In the upcoming months, school districts in Huntington Beach will make the decision on whether to require students who park their e-bikes on campus to complete the training.

“I would love to see it mandatory,” Thomas said. “I don’t want to create any barriers for anyone to successful transportation, but I do want them to be able to do it safely.”

HBPD is also considering a separate training for those over the age of 50, who make up the second-largest collision group.

Parents and riders can find the information for the trainings on the HBPD website or social media pages. While there is no set schedule, the trainings will happen at least once a month at various public schools the rest of this summer.

Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, has reintroduced legislation to require colleges and universities to list various suicide hotlines and mental health resources on printed student IDs.

The bill — named the Improving Mental Health Access for Students Act — would require the contact information for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, for the Crisis Text Line and for a campus mental health center to be listed on every college ID.

Both lifelines are national campaigns available 24/7 through phone, text and online with counselors prepared to help someone through a mental health crisis, including suicide prevention.

Nearly 24,000 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 attempt suicide each year in the United States, and some 1,100 die.

“We’re looking to save lives,” Correa said. “This is what the bill is about, saving lives.”

With easy access to student IDs —  which are often kept close because they act as a key to buildings and residence halls — students have a reminder of who they can go to if they find themselves in a crisis.

“Hopefully some of those students, when they’re stressed out, look at the card, call the number, and get some counseling,” Correa said.

The bill does not cost anything for Congress and is a bipartisan effort in both chambers. It was introduced by both Democratic and Republican representatives in the past four congressional sessions. In 2020 and 2021, the bill passed in the Senate, but not in the House.

“I know some people may object because it is a mandate,” Correa said. “But my gosh, it’s worth it.”

In the current session of Congress, the bill was assigned to committees in both chambers, but no further action has been taken.

“There’s no way this can be done if we don’t come together on this,” Courtney Hunter, vice president of public policy and advocacy at the nonprofit Crisis Text Line said. “However it can get done, let’s get it done.”

While the bill has not had luck in Congress, legislators in several states have passed similar mandates. In 13 states — including California — middle and high schools are required to list the same contacts on their IDs.

“To have this on college IDs would be transformational,” Hunter said. “Education and awareness is half the battle.”

Around 50% of those using Crisis Text Line are under 18. Having the number readily available for college students could increase the number of people who reach out when they are amidst a mental health crisis.

“It would put it in the palm of their hands,” Hunter said.

Crisis Text Line — one of the required resources — is a 24/7 service in English and Spanish available through various messaging apps. After initiating the conversation, texters are connected with a crisis volunteer who can assess the situation and provide help and resources.

Crisis Text Line’s services are not limited to matters of self-harm or suicide. It is available for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis or simply needing someone to talk to, Hunter said.

The 988 lifeline is also available 24/7 for calling or chatting with a counselor.

“One size doesn’t fit all with these resources, and we want people to have options,” Hunter said.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death amongst college students. The bill is a practical solution for providing accessible resources for students, Correa said.

“I remember being in college, being in law school, and there’s so much pressure,” Correa said. “When you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Both private and public universities are included in the proposed mandate. Universities that do not print student IDs would be required to list the required contact information on their website.

The 988 lifeline is available by dialing 988 on your phone or online at 988lifeline.org. Crisis Text Line is available online at crisistextline.org or by texting “HOME” or “HOLA” to 741741.

Camouflaged by the routine, many Iranian American shoppers moved through the straight aisles with a tangle of feelings stirred by Saturday’s U.S. airstrike on three nuclear facilities in Iran amid more than a week of missile strikes between Iran and Israel.

On Monday morning, Iran retaliated with missiles launched at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest American military installation in the Middle East, though Iran gave the U.S. advance notice of the attack.

By the afternoon, President Donald Trump announced a complete and total ceasefire between Iran and Israel was pending, adding to the swirl of emotions among Orange County’s Iranian American community.

“I have mixed feelings about the attack,” an Irvine woman said on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal against her son and mother, who live in Iran. “I want regime change, but I’m worried about them.”

“We all want regime change, but I don’t feel good at all about what’s happening,” added a woman from Trabuco Canyon who said her name is Zoey. She’s lost contact with her mother in northern Iran due to two days of internet blackouts across the country.

“I’m feeling great about the U.S. attack,” said a third shopper, an expatriate from Tehran. “People are suffering, and this sends a message to Iran.”

Touraj Daryaee, director of the UC Irvine Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, said he expects that most of the 36,000 Iranian Americans in Orange County reacted favorably to Trump’s decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“Orange County, being what it is in terms of its politics, you tend to see more people who are anti-government and willing to see this type of bombing and punishment in hopes of rebuilding the country under a different regime,” Daryaee said.

For an Iranian couple visiting Irvine, however,  just returning — nonetheless rebuilding — home is their most immediate concern.

Just days before Israel started its war with Iran on June 12, Reza Arzanian’s parents flew in from the Iranian capital to visit their son and meet their newborn grandson, Kaveh.

“They don’t know if they’re going to have a home to go back to,” Arzanian said.

“I am, in no shape or form, supportive of the Iranian government or regime,” Arzanian said. “When I was inside Iran, I protested and was almost beaten to death while doing so.” Still, he’s unsettled by the U.S. attack.

“Now,” he said, “I live in a country where my tax dollars are directly supporting the bombs that are being dropped on my homeland.”

Behrang Borhani, a spokesperson for the California Society for Democracy in Iran, an advocacy group with an office in Long Beach, said the U.S. airstrike is a nuanced subject for many Iranian Americans.

“There’s no love lost for the regime’s (nuclear) infrastructure that has been destroyed,” she said. “Iranian Americans are happy about that specific component; however, at the same time, it is difficult because nobody wants to go to war.”

The situation for most residents in Iran is grim, said Karmel Melamed, an Iranian American freelance journalist based in Southern California.

Shortages of water, an electric grid “on the fritz,” an ongoing trucker strike and the regime’s response to the conflicts have people in Iran struggling to get the basic resources they need, he said.

“(Iranian people) are very worried,” Melamed said. “They are worried for their safety. Not that America is going to bomb them, but that the regime will clamp down on them because of this external war.”

“So, they’re in survival mode right now.”

Mahta Eslami, a 47-year-old Irvine resident who left Iran as a child, said she is “still kind of trying to wrap my head around all types of emotions going through us as we sit in anticipation, waiting.”

She has family in Isfahan, a city near Natanz — one of the three sites struck by the U.S. over the weekend.

“Everything is kind of just moment by moment,” Eslami said. “We’re all sitting by our phones waiting to see what is happening next.”