Will O'Neill

NPR’s Sacramento bureau released a story Wednesday with this headline: Newsom Misled the Public About Wildfire Prevention Efforts Ahead Of Worst Fire Season On Record. The story is explosive and needs to lead to resignations. I encourage you to read the full story (it’s ~10x longer than this post). Link is below. At a high level, CapRadio’s investigation found the governor has misrepresented his accomplishments and even disinvested in wildfire prevention. The investigation...Continue reading

This post is, by its very nature, SUPER EPIC. Yes indeed, we’re talking Newport Beach Junior Lifeguards, which started yesterday for its largest program ever. 1,652 youth converge on the Balboa Pier area to learn about water safety, responsibility, and overall well-being. First, let me give a quick PSA.... Please please please drive carefully. We’ve got kids biking and walking to and from NBJGs four times a day (morning and afternoon sessions) for a while. They’re in the red shorts and usually in packs. Especially pay attention at the piers and near the ferry. And if your kids have e-bikes, please talk to them about bike safety. Stop signs mean stop. Helmets are good. Just because they can go fast doesn’t mean that they should. Etc. Ok, end of PSA. Yesterday, I joined our NBJG kickoff and the vibe was awesome. The parents smiling and taking pictures. The JGs sitting with nervous energy. The newbies learning not to say the Y word (yeah instead of yes earns pushups). And everyone knowing to yell SUPER EPIC when prompted. I couldn’t help but reflect on where we were last year. We knew kids’ mental health was a real issue. We knew that outdoors was better than indoors. We knew that kids were hanging out without structure. We knew that parents wanted NBJGs to go forward. But we didn’t know exactly how to make it work. So our NB Lifeguards started with the assumption that they’d make it work and went from there. It’s amazing what a positive can-do attitude can do. The program was modified. It was shorter and more spread out. And then we wondered how many families would actually send their kids. We didn’t wonder long because over 1,000 kids showed up. Did we take some grief for hosting the program? Sure, but it was small in comparison to the many parents who told me that this saved their summer and their kids’ mental health. And that’s worth fighting for every day of the week. To the alums, parents, current JGs, and future JGs, I wish you all a SUPER EPIC summer! #SuperEpic #NewportStrong

Governments should not exist in states of emergency beyond the moment that the situation no longer qualifies as an emergency. This should be simple. It should be basic. It should be followed. But we all know that it’s not. Except in Newport Beach. ... Because tonight, the City Council lifted our state of emergency. We looked at the law, which requires us to certify that our community is in extreme peril that are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of our city. Does that sound remotely like our city’s present state? Does it sound like your city’s present state? Heck, does it sound like the state of our State? No. It doesn’t. And every city and county should be looking at the law and concluding that they cannot make the finding sufficient to justify their state of emergency and end it. The only pushback I’ve heard so far is money. They’re not sure if they might possibly potentially get more funding if they exist in a state of emergency. Here’s my very blunt response: that’s garbage. Do you know what happens to citizens who request money based on false representations? They’re charged with fraud. So how can it be any different for a government to claim money based on a represented state of emergency that they cannot possibly justify any longer? With the Fourth of July coming up, let’s remember Abraham Lincoln’s statement that government exists of the people, by the people, and for the people. It does not exist of, by, and for the government itself. If you live in a city still under a state of emergency, reach out. Do something. The more that cities push back, the harder it will be for the state and county to justify their findings too. Which is really important because cities removing their states of emergency do not get rid of Newsom’s powers or executive orders (like OSHA’s mask mandates or masks in schools). So push back now. And start local.

Let’s talk public health lotteries. And I’ll be blunt up front. I despise that people’s names were entered into a lottery based on private medical decisions. No way should ~$116m+ tax dollars be budgeted for this privacy violation while our highest elected official used it to brandish his own image. To be clear, you can agree with my statements no matter where you stand on the vaccine debate. If, for example, you support vaccine incentives, rationality dictates limits on ...Continue reading

My family and I participated in the Virtual Walk this morning for @patricks_purpose_foundation . My sincere thanks to @kimjtturner for all that she and her family have done to make this event happen this year. I’d love to hear from people who are walking why they’re walking. For my family, we are walking to bring awareness to teen mental health, especially in these challenging times... We are walking to support those who struggle and to break down the stigma of talking about mental health. "It’s okay to not be okay. We are walking to honor the life and legacy of Patrick Turner. And my guess is that many of you have had experience with mental health issues this year. You, your family, your friends, somewhere you’ve been experiencing the effects of an incredibly difficult year. And some of you may have lost family or friends to mental illness this year. We have. So to those walking, thank you for embracing the phrase #BeTheLight . Because it can be pretty dark, but we want all of you with us when it’s light again.

Thank you to @aarongcook for today’s pic! In March, our city recognized that we weren’t a health care agency and would defer to the orders and guidance from the state and county health care agencies. More importantly, we decided to focus our energies on amplifying the message from our local health care partners especially Hoag Hospital. It took the politics out of the equation and instead put the message into the hands of the people you’d listen to if you were in the hos...Continue reading

Thank you to @logiewolf for today’s pic! Here’s a pretty basic assumption: a core reason for government to exist is law and order. So we can understand the public outcry when CBS LA tweeted: Out of the 700 inmates being considered for release, 59 are in for murder, 39 for attempted murder, and 90 for child molestation and a litany of other crimes, [OC] Sheriff [Don] Barnes said. Let’s back up to understand the context which doesn’t make things rosier....Continue reading

Thank you to @nhhs_principal for today’s pic! I presented my last Year of the Volunteer proclamation to Vicki Ronaldson, a lady who (among many altruistic activities) delivers flowers to people in the hospital grown in her own garden for that singular purpose. When I presented the recognition to her at her church, I quoted Mt. 25:40: Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.... That verse’s ethos permeates Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. On Friday, I met with Second Harvest’s excellent leaders, Harald Herrmann and Claudia Keller. Harald helped found Yard House and was CEO of Mendocino Farms. He’s turned decades of serving people food for profit into a prolific year of serving people food for no profit. How many people? Between March-June this year, Second Harvest served ~468,200 people per month. In those four months, Second Harvest distributed 19.6 million pounds of food. Seriously. For 15 consecutive Saturdays between March and June, Second Harvest provided more than 2 million pounds of food to more than 62,436 cars at the Honda Center drive thru food distribution. Between July-present, Second Harvest has distributed ~5 million pounds of food monthly. Sadly, the need is only growing. Fortunately, Second Harvest and their hundreds of partners are there to fill the need. Two partners dear to my family are Mariners Church and Boys & Girls Club of Central Orange Coast. The former has distributed ~2.4 million pounds of food in 2020. The latter is run by Robert Santana, who I want to be when I grow up. Only a few of you know the following. Over the past four years, I’ve donated all the money (~$60k so far) that I’ve been paid for my public service to community organizations like the OC Rescue Mission, Patrick’s Purpose, Second Harvest, and many more. I’m mentioning that (after the election) to inspire, not brag. So here’s the question: what will you do to help in this season of need? If you’re inspired to give, then tag an organization in the comments that you’ll be donating to this week. Let’s #BeTheLight this season. Opportunities to give year-end: Boys & Girls Club of Central Orange Coast - https://boysandgirlsclub.com/leadership-team/ Second Harvest Food Bank Orange County - https://www.feedoc.org/give-now-5-10/ Patrick’s Purpose Foundation - https://www.patrickspurposefoundation.org/ Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter - https://fonbas.org/ Ben Carlson Foundation https://www.bencarlsonfoundation.org/donate CHOC Foundation https://foundation.choc.org/ Orange County Rescue Mission https://www.rescuemission.org/ SPIN https://www.spinoc.org/ Special Olympics Southern California - https://www.sosc.org/

Thank you to @ricks2r for today’s pic! You didn’t think I was done writing these did you? You have sent in too many good pictures to stop. On 12/3, the Governor issued his new restrictions based on ICU availability in regions. The SoCal Region lists an adjusted and unadjusted ICU availability rate (7.7% and 16.3%, respectfully). I’m working to understand this difference.... But my focus today will be on two of the new order’s restrictions. First, starting on Sunday, the state shut down playgrounds. In response, a UCSD professor of public health said: There is little to no evidence that playgrounds are a major driver of risk, and rather a lot of evidence that playing outside in the fresh air is good for children. Some cities tied caution tape around slides and swings (absurd). NB did not. Yesterday, the State quietly reversed its restriction. Playgrounds can now be open again. Good. But why? Was there good data/science justifying the initial closure? If so, then did political pressure compromise public health? If not, then was this just incompetence? Which brings us to outdoor dining. An LA state judge just issued an injunction against LA County enforcing its outdoor dining closure order because LA County couldn’t justify it (the state order still applies though). The judge noted that LA County failed to consider the costs of closures on people’s lives. If LA couldn’t justify it, can the State? Apparently not. CA’s health and human services director said on Tuesday that closing outdoor restaurants really has to do with the goal of trying to keep people at home. Nothing to do with actual data or science, but an overall goal. A goal, by the way, that includes exceptions for protests, Costco, Walmart, etc. Look, I have scaled back my risk way back this month. The virus is spreading and hospitalizations are rapidly increasing. I prefer not to be indoors as much with other people yet. Which is why an outdoor dining ban without data support is dangerous. People having lunch are picking up and eating back at their workplaces often indoors. So it’s simple: I will continue to support restaurants with safe outdoor dining. Period. Resources: Breaking: Playgrounds open - https://twitter.com/emily_hoeven/status/1336709740072587266 CalMatters Playgrounds stay open: State backtracks on outdoor play area ban https://calmatters.org//california-backtracks-playground-b LAT Judge limits L.A. County outdoor dining ban in searing rebuke, but state order remains https://www.latimes.com//la-covid-19-outdoor-dining-ban-li LA County Supervisor hypocrisy - https://twitter.com/BillFOXLA/status/1336767223902310400 Politico California judge calls L.A. outdoor dining ban 'abuse' of powers https://www.politico.com//judge-blasts-los-angeles-outdoor