🌱Live Free Park Job + Comedy in O.C. + Two Chases + Gas Prices

Good morning, Orange County! It's me again, Paula Constance, your host of the Orange County Daily.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny today. High: 70. Low: 57.

Here are the top stories today in Orange County:

1. Do you want to live for free in a 33-acre nature park in Orange County? Santa Ana may have the perfect job for you. The city is looking for a volunteer to live for free in Thornton Park as a park host. The perks are great. You live in beautiful nature with a three-acre lake, basketball court, and two playgrounds. It can be a great opportunity for the right person. Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the area costs between $2,000 to $4,000 a month. Utilities are also free. The future park host will plug into a fifth wheel at the north end of the park. The park host will have a few jobs to take care of, like raising and lowering the flag, restocking toilet paper, and taking care of trash cans that overflow. The city hopes to find someone who is good at customer service and can limit visitors to 10 days a year. On Tuesday, the City already had eight applicants. You can read more about this developing story here: (NBC Southern California)
2. Cherie Kerr brought comedy to Orange County. Kerr is the director and producer of the Orange County Crazies, offering improv, stand-up, and sketch comedy workshops for adults and children at the De Pietro Performance Center in Santa Ana. Workshop students, like Robert “Robbie” Nelson Jr., a company CEO who had to give presentations, said he came out to a one-day workshop and loved it. “It was all about how to give presentations, how to add humor to it," he said. Nelson returned for stand-up classes and said that his leadership and confidence at work improved. He also said it helped him make Zoom meetings during the pandemic more fun. The OC Crazies arrived in Orange County in the 1990s and will be celebrating its 32nd year this month. You can read the full story here: (Los Angeles Times)
3. Gas prices dropped by one cent in Orange County from prices in December. This could be a trend in the right direction. Driver's are happy to see that prices across Orange County have been declining over the past several weeks, with the average price for a gallon of gas down to about $4.64 That's 1.2 cents less than last month. The cheapest places to find gas in Orange County are at the D&L Gas Station and the Gasco station in Santa Ana, according to Gas Buddy. You can read more here: (Orange County Patch)
4. Two separate stolen trucks led officers on high-speed chases over SoCal freeways at the same time on Monday afternoon. Just after 2:30 p.m., authorities chased the driver of a stolen pickup truck at speeds of almost 100 mph on the eastbound 105 Freeway into Orange County, then into Downey and Long Beach. Then the suspect stopped the truck, got out, and ran through a Long Beach golf course where he was caught and arrested. At the same time in the North Hollywood area, CHP chased a stolen utility truck at high speeds westbound on the 101 freeway. The drive finally stopped at Sunset Boulevard and Stanley Avenue and officers took the driver into custody. Thanks for keeping everyone safe, CHP. You can read more about this story here: (KABC-TV)

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Today in Orange County:

• Festival of Arts “Selections from the Collection” Exhibit at Laguna Beach City Hall. (7:30 a.m.)
• HB APA's "Cabaret." (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Orange County Boys Athlete of the Week: Dominic Morales, San Clemente. (OCRegister)
• Chapman University, UCI: Earn National Endowment Grants. (Orange County Patch)
• Festive Lunar New Year Treats: At Disney California Adventure 2022. (Orange County Patch)
• German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County: "One-year-old Roxy came to us with a sad past. Her previous owner kept her tied up with an electrical cord outside." (Facebook)
• Orange County Register: "There were 964 patients reported hospitalized in Orange County with the coronavirus on Jan. 10." (Facebook)
• Orange County Register: "A back-country skier spotted the animal in deep snow last month, prompting an intense rescue operation." (Facebook)

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• New Year, New You: Life After Divorce — Vesta Irvine, California Hub. (Jan. 14)
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• Social Security Seminar. (Jan. 20)
• Winter Slime Time with Girl Scouts! (Jan. 25)
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Now you're in the know and ready to start Thursday off right! I'll see you again soon.

— Paula Constance

About me: I am a freelance writer, author, and media producer. I am committed to media projects that empower, engage, and help make the world a better place.