🌱 New Eatery On The Pier + Courthouse Goes Dark + Stadium Secrets

Hello, friends! Today’s National Pack Rat Day; did you know humans and rodents may share a fondness for shiny things? It's Wednesday in Orange County, and I'm back to get you caught up on what's happening in town, including news on...

• 🧑‍⚖️ Former Crescent Elementary School teacher pleads guilty.
• 🏗️ Real Estate speculation might have you throw good money after bad.
• 🤔 There’s no word on what happened to Bud & Gene’s.

💗 Please help us grow! Send a friend or neighbor this link, so they can be in the know, like you!

🌤️ But first, today's weather: Partly sunny. High: 76 Low: 58.

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⛽ Three of the Cheapest Gas Stations Across Orange County

• Berri Brothers at 2180 West Ball Road in Anaheim, $4.37
• ARCO at 7990 South Knott Ave. in Buena Park, $4.39
• ARCO at 1935 East Katella Ave. in Orange, $4.49

🍷 Hobby Poll!
Everybody has hobbies. If time and money were no object this summer, which new hobby would you like to learn or take up? We have some preliminary results.

• 20 percent - traveling
• 9.9 percent - flying
• 6.7 percent - ballroom dancing
• 3.3 percent - fly-fishing, crocheting, Mahjong, basket making, dog training & showing, surfing, watercolor, pickleball, line dancing, pottery, reading, horseback riding, wine collecting, car collecting, playing guitar, kickboxing, golf, roller skating

One of you asked a great question: “Does anyone have photography as a hobby now?” With our new phones, there’s no longer the need for a dark room and all the accouterments that used to come with the hobby.

📰 Here are the top stories in Orange County today:

1. A 45-year-old former elementary school teacher pleaded guilty “to possessing child sexual abuse material.” The Anaheim resident “was employed as a fourth-grade teacher at Crescent Elementary School in Anaheim and volunteered as a boys’ wrestling coach at Canyon High School.” It’s important to note that he was not accused of abusing students. He will be sentenced on Dec. 18, most likely to five years in federal prison. (Justice Department)
2. The Central Justice Center in Santa Ana went dark — again. Last Thursday, a massive outage closed the courthouse for the morning sessions. On Tuesday, intermittent outages led to a complete closure to the public. While court officials redirect questions about hearings and cases to occourts.org, Southern California Edison has not yet weighed in on what’s going on at the courthouse or what they’ll have to do to keep the lights on. (Patch)
3. Why did the Anaheim City Council “secretly reject a lawsuit settlement” that would have brought more transparency to stadium negotiations? Former Mayor Harry Sidhu reportedly championed a stadium sale after receiving “$1 million in campaign support from team officials.” And let’s not forget the FBI allegations that the public policy is the result of a behind-the-scenes agreement of “a small cadre of Disneyland resort area insiders” and Chamber of Commerce representatives. Activists were looking for elected officials to be much more public and transparent in their actions about future stadium deals. And city hall turned them down. Now what? (Voice of OC)
4. Kearny Real Estate bought the property at 3130 South Harbor Blvd. in Santa Ana in 2018 for $34.8 million. It then spent another $15 million to renovate the offices. The goal was to build a setup that would appeal to millennials. Then, industrial real estate proved to be the investment where it’s at, and Kearny now plans to demolish the renovated space and build — a warehouse. Dune Real Estate Partners will oversee this project. It makes sense on paper. (Subscription: The Real Deal)
5. The Broad Street Oyster Company plans an expansion to the Huntington Beach Pier. Or to be specific, the seafood eatery from Malibu wants to take over what used to be Ruby’s Diner. You may remember that it closed in 2021 after being there for nearly three decades. Bud & Gene’s moved in for about five minutes but apparently closed. It’s time for Christopher Tompkins and his popular seafood brand to shine at the location. Insiders say that the lobster roll is the dish to try for sure. Look for the eatery to open mid-summer. (Palisades News)

📆 Today in Orange County:

• The Orange Lunch Business Networking Group meets at Zito's Pizza (11:45 AM)
• Rawr! Dinosaurs Bilingual Family Storytime at Anaheim's Haskett Branch Library (3:30 PM)
• The Ranch at Laguna Beach hosts John Nichols (4 PM)
• Coding Games (Grades 3-5) at the Orange Public Library & History Center (4 PM)
• Snow Tha Product — "The Quince I Never Had" Tour at the Anaheim House of Blues (7 PM)

🖊️ From my notebook:

• "Reminder: Let’s finish the school year strong with great attendance!" (Orange Unified School District via Instagram)
• "What’s inside the box, kiddos??? We have the best helpers to open the donation box 💙💙💙 Theo, Monty and Calvin!! Thank you, Max and Neo, for your support!! We love your leashes, and collars, and well everything!! https://www.maxandneo.com..." (Orange County Pit Bull Rescue via Facebook)
• "Thank you to Phoenix Law Group for recently coming by to volunteer in the kitchen. They prepped meals for students and packed lunches for the kiddos!" (Orange County Rescue Mission via Facebook)
• "An Orange County student was awarded a national scholarship from the Science Olympiad Founders’ program. Congratulations to Nina Kini from Valencia High School! 🎓📚 📸" (Orange County Department of Ed via Instagram)
• "Radiant Health Centers’ Annual Gala is only a few weeks away. Reserve your tickets and tables today: bit.ly/rhcgala23 Enjoy live performances throughout the night by Backhausdance, OC's premier, professional, contemporary dance company." (Radiant Health Centers via Facebook)

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Featured events:

• Imagining Mental Wellness - A Giving Day to Invest in Mental Health in OC (May 17)
• A Fun & Professional Children's Acting Class (May 18)
• A Night To Shine Fundraising - Help Us Help Those In Need (May 18)
• Free Home Buyer Event (May 20)
• 2023 San Clemente Garden Tour (May 20)
• Spring Garden Art Faire at Sherman Gardens (May 20)
• Crawfish Festival - May 19-21, 2023 - Taste of New Orleans in SoCal! (May 20)
• Armed Forces Day Celebration with Haley Reinhart, Ashley Gutermuth and Dogs on Deployment (May 20)
• Breast Ultrasound Screening Coming Direct to You! (May 22)
• Bello Welcomes Winemaker Chase Carhartt (May 24)
• Golden State Ballet: From New York, With Love (June 6)
• Golden State Ballet: From New York, With Love (June 9)
• Add your event

Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Wednesday off right! I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow with a new update.

— Sylvia Cochran

About me: Christ follower. Wife. Book dragon. Proud supporter of the Oxford comma.

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