Fullerton Officials Aim to Fix City’s ‘Subpar’ Streets
The streets of Fullerton, California, are in dire need of improvement, according to city officials, and the City Council has become determined to do something about it.
At a recent meeting, both officials and citizens acknowledged the poor state of the city’s streets and emphasized the need to begin fixing the problem as soon as possible.
Mayor Bruce Whitaker told The Epoch Times the condition of his city’s streets has reached an “emergency stage.”
“The subpar condition of our streets is a public safety issue, increasing potential for accidents and injuries, causing undue suffering and substantial litigation costs,” Whitaker said.
Lieutenant Commander Jay Chen, Democrat running for Congress in California’s 39th District, announced today that Fullerton City Council Member Fred Jung has endorsed his campaign for Congress. Jung is the first Korean American Fullerton City Council Member in over 20 years. Fullerton is the largest city in the 39th Congressional District.
“I am proud to endorse Jay Chen for Congress. Jay knows our diversity and understands the urgency in addressing our needs, such as bringing home federal funding for roads and small businesses,” said Councilmember Fred Jung. ‘As a Fullerton Council member in Congressional District 39th’s largest city, I know Jay will work hard to ensure our families in Fullerton, and neighbors across the district are taken care of.”
Fullerton Will Not Join Sheriff Barnes’ Opposition to COVID-19 Inmate Release/Transfer Order
Fullerton City Council voted 3-2 at a special meeting on December 21 to not join an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in support of OC Sheriff Barnes’s opposition to releasing or transferring jail inmates. Barnes is fighting a recent a court order requiring a 50% reduction of the inmate population in group living areas because of spiking inmate COVID-19 cases due to the vulnerability of inmates living in congregate settings.
This court order was prompted by both recommendations from the OC Health Care Agency and a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Orange County inmates, alleging that inmates should be released because they are medically vulnerable and at imminent risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19.
Motion to Delay Retail Cannabis Sales in Fullerton Fails in Council
An “urgency ordinance” seeking to delay Fullerton’s recent approval of cannabis sales within city limits has failed.
The item received a majority 3–2 support at a meeting of the Fullerton City Council on Dec. 15, but urgency ordinances in the Southern California city require the support of 4 out of 5 councilmembers to pass.
City Manager Ken Domer said the motion which would have pushed the Dec. 17 effective date to April 16, 2021 was a response to several concerns, including the lack of residential buffer zones and the “threat of litigation” from adjoining jurisdictions.