🌱 Mission Viejo Shooting + OC Rental Market Stats + OCC Celebrates

Hey, everybody! Today’s National Near Miss Day; did you know that in 1989 an asteroid named 4581 Asclepius almost hit Earth — and will likely come back in 2051? It's Thursday in Orange County, and I'm back in your inbox to get you caught up on all the most important things happening in our community, including news on:

• 🔥 An alleged Santa Ana arsonist
• 📕 The book “Persepolis: The Story of Childhood”
• 👟 OCC Pirate Athletics commemorate the school’s history

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☁️ But first, today's weather:

A brief shower or two. High: 63 Low: 48.

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⛽ Three of the Cheapest Gas Stations Across Orange County

• Costco at 2655 El Camino Real in Tustin, $4.39
• ARCO at 5472 Orangethorpe Ave. in La Palma, $4.39
• Gulf at 3300 E Imperial Hwy. in Brea, $4.49

😋 Fair Food Poll!
Fair food is the ultimate cheat meal. We asked which is your favorite. You answered! The top four vote-getters are funnel cake (25.7%), candy apples (24.3%), corndogs (17.2%), and guacamole (4.3%). Interestingly, nobody picked deep-fried Oreos. Thank you for participating!

📰 Here are the top stories today in Orange County:

1. A 22-year-old Mission Viejo man is under arrest on suspicion of killing his roommate. A shooting took place on Tuesday afternoon in the 27000 block of Ruisenor. The suspect was on site when authorities arrived. Besides that, police found a firearm. (Patch)
2. Who was the man (allegedly) setting fire to a Santa Ana business on Monday? The police have high-resolution photos of the arsonist using “accelerants to start and spread a fire” in the 1000 block of East 6th Street on Monday. It’s noteworthy that the man was armed. (Patch)
3. How difficult is it to find the apartment of your dreams in Orange County? Wednesday’s report says that each vacant OC apartment gets around 11 applicants. At this time, 96% of apartments are taken and the majority of renters tend to renew their leases. On the bright side, the East Coast has an even more competitive rental market than the OC. (Spectrum News1)
4. The book “Persepolis: The Story of Childhood” is making news on Wednesday in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District. The book is an autobiography and graphic novel that chronicles growing up in Iran during the Shah's overthrow. One of the school district’s trustees said last week that the book contains bad language toward women, and children could end up repeating the phrase. The trustee also said some of the images in the book are objectionable. However, the superintendent disagrees, saying that a failure to discuss atrocities means “the district is not properly teaching those historical events.” (Voice of OC)
5. The Orange Coast College (OCC) in Costa Mesa is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Because the school wanted to do something a little different, OCC Pirate Athletics will take the leadership role in marking the event. It will “host three spring sporting events over the next month to help promote the college’s past, present and future.” That said, other departments will also get in on the action, as the school plans to celebrate for most of the year! (OC Breeze)

📆 Today in Orange County:

• Anne's Treasures hosts Cling Film Art at the Santa Ana Bowers Museum (10 AM)
• Participate in the MOD Pizza Fundraiser for the boys' field hockey team of Huntington Beach HS (10:30 AM)
• Project Access Pickleball Tournament takes place at the Tennis and Pickleball Club in Newport Beach (12:30 PM)
• Get Homework Help for grades 1 to 6 at the Garden Grove Main Library (4 PM)
• Kim Johnson plays acoustic music at The Ranch At Laguna Beach (4 PM)

🖊️ From my notebook:

• "Stepping up when needed is the simplest way to describe what Firefighter Paramedic Nicholas Sibayan did at Fountain Valley Hospital when he took down a large, irate person in the emergency room." (Orange County Fire Authority via Facebook)
• "Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim community. We wish you and your family a peaceful and happy Ramadan!" (Orange County Sheriff's Department, CA, via Facebook)
• "AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION Cute and friendly, 8-month-old Mia is a Belgian Malinois jam packed with malinois energy and drive. She is a cute girl who likes to meet new people and greets them with a doggy smile and tail wag." (German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County via Facebook)
• "Eighth-grader Jayden Ham from the Garden Grove Unified School District stars in the leading role in the new Nickelodeon animated preschool series, "Bossy Bear," which airs new episodes through March." (Orange County Department of Ed via Instagram)
• "New look, same mission 💛 We are so excited to introduce the brand-new logo for Goodwill of Orange County! With this renewed look, we are dedicated to continuing our commitment to our mission to help people on their pathway to employment." (Goodwill of Orange County via Facebook)

🏡 What are homes selling for these days in Orange County?

• Median Listing Home Price $1M
• Median Listing Home Price/Square Foot $598
• Median Sold Home Price $955.4K

Check out more Orange County real estate information!

🐶 Meet Orange County area Pets Available To Be Adopted!

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Featured events:

• Project Access Pickleball Tournament, presented by Freespeed Aviation, LLC (March 23)
• Communicating to Realize Your Vision (March 25)
• First time home buyer seminar (March 25)
• OC Wine & Spirit Fest (March 26)
• Hop to It! Pet Photos with Bunny Returns to Brea Mall for Easter (March 26)
• ASK THE EXPERTS. Social Media to Substances. Anxiety to Ideation. (March 27)
• Add your event

That's it for today! I'll see you tomorrow.

— Sylvia Cochran

About me: Sylvia Cochran works out of sunny Southern California and has been freelance writing full-time since 2005. She loves dogs, cats, books, plays Best Fiends (don't judge), embraces social justice, and tries to live out Micah 6:8.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Orange County Patch newsletter? Contact me at orangecounty@patch.com