by Adrian Meza Mask Mandate Update The state of California will be lifting its indoor mask requirement that was set December last year amid the soaring COVID cases on February 15. This […]
State and Local COVID-19 Updates
Ambitious city housing proposal identifies over 30,000 potential new units
State requires Fullerton to plan for 13,209 units over next eight years In her last meeting with the City of Fullerton before moving on to a new position with the City of Anaheim, […]
Community celebrates purchase of 24 acres of west Coyote Hills
The city of Fullerton held a celebration on January 29 to commemorate the purchase of 24 acres in the west Coyote Hills, which will permanently be set aside as open space. Long […]
Public Input Needed at Virtual Redistricting Workshops
The three Redistricting Workshops that had been scheduled as in-person neighborhood meetings were switched to a virtual-only due to COVID. The Zoom link was published two days before the first workshop on […]
City staffing levels decline
Throughout the past few years, the continuous decline in levels of City Staff has been one of the city of Fullerton’s most significant problems. In December 2021, the City had a staff […]
City to host second redistricting workshop
The City of Fullerton invites the public to participate in its second redistricting community workshop on Saturday, January 29 at 10am on Zoom. Redistricting occurs every ten years to redraw City Council […]
Free at-home COVID tests now available to order
The Biden administration has launched a new web site (covidtests.gov) on which every household can order four free at-home COVID tests. Testing is an important tool to help mitigate the spread of […]
Fullerton finalizes purchase of 24 acres of west Coyote Hills for preservation
Escrow closed on the acquisition by the city of Fullerton of two parcels of land in west Coyote Hills totaling 24.1 acres on December 30, 2021. The City purchased the land for […]
New law seeks to improve safety and transparency at shelters
A new state law goes into effect this January, which seeks to provide standards and accountability for homeless shelters—reforms which lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and some former shelter residents […]
FSD Teacher of the Year
Veronica Krause, a 3rd grade teacher at Maple School was awarded the Region 11 California League of Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year. Krause was nominated for her devotion and dedication to […]
An Interview with Mayor Fred Jung
In December, just a year into his first term, 1st District councilmember Fred Jung was chosen by a 3-2 majority of his fellow councilmembers as the Mayor of Fullerton. (see correction at […]
New federal and state district lines divide Fullerton in two
by Anthony Robert California recently underwent redistricting in the wake of the 2020 United States Census, and Fullerton is certain to be affected through potential changes in the Congressional and State legislatures. […]
City Council redistricting process begins
The second meeting of the Redistricting Advisory Commission (RAC) was held in the City Council Chamber on December 15. Few people attended in person. On the agenda that night were two items, […]
FAST swimmer wins national title
Matthew Chai, a swimmer on Fullerton Aquatic Sports Teams (FAST), won his first national championship in December at the Junior Nationals West event in Austin, Texas. The 18-year-old swam to an impressive […]
Jeff Collier to serve as Acting City Manager
The Fullerton City Council at their December 21 meeting approved Jeff Collier to serve as Acting City Manager upon Steve Danley’s departure and until a permanent replacement is selected. The City retained […]
Free shoes and a Merry Christmas for all
The Leon Owens Foundation sponsors its annual Shoes for Kids Community Outreach program. Richman Elementary was selected this year. The students and teachers were told that one student from each class would […]
Council majority approves budget cuts and use of federal relief funds
After being deadlocked for several meetings over whether to make budget cuts and how to allocate the nearly $33 million the City has received in federal relief funds (from the American Rescue […]
Trash Collection to Resume December 17
The City of Fullerton has announced that trash service will resume following the cessation of a labor disagreement between city trash hauler Republic Services its sanitation employees. The strike, which began on […]
Fullerton trash pickup on hold as workers strike
Four hundred sanitation employees went on strike beginning December 9, citing unfair employment practices by Republic Services, causing a delay in trash and recycling services for Fullerton and other surrounding cities. Teamsters […]
5 Honored at Women’s Leadership Forum
Event founder and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva hosted the 17th Annual Fullerton Women’s Leadership Forum along with former Fullerton City Councilmember Pam Keller and the Women’s Club of Fullerton (WCOF) at the Community […]
Police Officer Association tells City Council to stop the cuts
Mayor Pro Tem Nick Dunlap spoke at the November 16 City Council meeting about a mass text that was sent out by the Fullerton Police Officers Association (FPOA), the union that represents […]
Redistricting: What to expect this time
Commentary In the previous Observer I mentioned that the principal lesson to be learned from the original City Council district drawing exercise in 2015-16 is that public input, even where there is […]
City to own nearly half of Coyote Hills as open space
As a result of State grant funding, Fullerton will purchase from property owner Chevron and their housing subsidiary Pacific Coast Homes (PCH) nearly half of the 510-acre West Coyote Hills as a […]
Council votes to fund homeless shelter for 6 months
Fullerton’s Navigation Center (homeless shelter with social services), which opened in 2020 and recently closed to Fullerton’s homeless due to a lack of funding, will see at least six more months of […]
City Redistricting: the politics behind the process
Vince Buck is CSUF Professor Emeritus, Political Science Fullerton City Councilmembers have all been elected by district only since December 2020. The districts were first created in 2016, but now that the […]
Korean War Memorial Unveiled
Hundreds of residents, veterans, families, visitors from Korea, and local leaders dedicated the new Orange County Korean War Memorial, located at Hillcrest Park in Fullerton on Veteran’s Day, November 11. “Today we […]
Council seeks alternatives for proposed south Fullerton trail
A proposed trail in south Fullerton along an abandoned railroad right-of-way became the focus of heated discussion and raised questions of conflicts of interest during the November 2 Council meeting. Back in […]
As Fullerton Prepares Housing Plan, Affordability a Challenge and Opportunity
It’s no secret that housing is expensive in California. For long-time homeowners, rising home values have been a boon. But for the millions in California and the thousands in Fullerton who don’t […]
Whitaker, Dunlap, and Jung appointees vote as a majority to select at-large members to Redistricting Advisory Commission
The Fullerton Redistricting Advisory Commission met for the first time on October 27 in City Council Chambers. The five members directly appointed by City Council were tasked with selecting a chair and […]
City and Foundation move homeless from shelter
Due to a lack of funding, residents at Fullerton’s Navigation Center (homeless shelter) are being moved to other shelters in the area. “The city of Fullerton allocated $440,000 of [Federal] funds for […]
Council remains deadlocked over relief funds and budget cuts
City Council was again unable to come to a consensus at their October 19 meeting about whether to make budget cuts and how to allocate the $32.7 million the City received from […]
Juvenile arrested in murder case
A 17-year-old male was arrested on Oct 21 in connection to a murder that happened on May 28. The suspect fired a gun into a vehicle around 8pm on the 3500 block […]
Fullerton to Release Housing Plan
City Planning Manager Heather Allen hosted a virtual community workshop on October 7 to preview Fullerton’s upcoming draft Housing Element, which is set to be released on October 25. A Housing Element […]
Two new bars proposed for downtown despite current alcohol-related problems
Over the years the city of Fullerton has approved 58 alcohol licenses in the 12-block downtown Restaurant Overlay District (ROD). Recent police records show numerous incidences of assaults, rapes, DUIs, and vandalism […]
Council deadlocked over budget cuts and use of federal relief funds
City Council was unable to reach consensus at their October 5 meeting on whether to make budget cuts and how to allocate the $32.7 million in federal aid the City received from […]
