After two years, the much-anticipated Garden Grove Strawberry Festival returned over Memorial Day weekend. This year’s theme was “Celebrating Essential Workers.”

My wife, Judge Cheri Pham, and I were honored to be part of the parade alongside several community heroes, local leaders, artists, and performers. We were joined by the talented BeliEVE & Dance Studio performers and the Dynamite Book Club volunteers. Special thanks to Mark and Becky Serna for allowing us to use their red 1954 Chevy Bel Air Convertible for the parade.

I was honored to be invited as a guest speaker at the City of La Palma’s Memorial Day Ceremony. The all-American, small-town support for our fallen heroes was heartfelt and beautiful.

Walker Jr. High and Kennedy High School combined bands and did an amazing job. Miss Sophia Flores’ a cappella performance of our National Anthem was simply amazing. Thank you, Mayor Michele Steggell and the City Council, for having me as a guest speaker.

Hundreds of residents were present to take part in honoring our heroes at the Huntington Beach Pier on Memorial Day. The honorable tribute was co-hosted by the City of Huntington Beach and the Huntington Beach American Legion Post 133.

The American Legion Honor Guard rendered a 21 Gun Salute while the Huntington Beach High School band did a fantastic job of supporting the Ceremony from beginning to end.

It was an honor to be part of such a special tribute remembering our brave men and women in the armed services. Our values as a nation stand strong and unwavering because of generations of service and sacrifice.

On June 1, we celebrated the groundbreaking of Huntington Beach Seniors, a new construction housing community for low-income seniors.

The County of Orange committed $3.6 million in Mental Health Services Act funding and 33 Project-Based Housing Choice vouchers to help facilitate this development. The permanent supportive housing units in this development are part of the overall Housing Funding Strategy to develop 2,700 supportive housing units by 2025.

Providing affordable housing for our seniors is one of the most effective ways that we can support our residents as they age in place. It is also in line with the County’s Master Plan on Aging, which seeks to create support for Orange County residents over the age of 65.

We are grateful for development partners, such as Jamboree Housing Corporation, who understand the importance of high-quality development. We’re certain that Huntington Beach Seniors will be a beautiful development - hopefully inspiring other cities to pursue developments like these in their own communities.

For more information, please visit the Orange County Housing Authority’s website.

Last month, the Orange County Procurement office hosted the first Vendor Outreach Event at Freedom Hall in Mile Square Park. The event was successful with 130 vendor table displays and close to 500 attendees.

Vendors of all contract types were placed in different sections (human service, construction, AE, IT, etc.) and were not only able to gain access to County departments and City staff but also collaborate with each other.

The County intends to hold this event annually in the late spring with additional plans to launch a series of Vendor Workshops in the fall, covering a variety of topics such as the County's solicitation and contracting processes and others.

For more information, please follow the County Procurement LinkedIn page.

Last month, Homeless United Huntington Beach held a community meeting for anyone interested in learning about collaborative efforts between the County of Orange and the City of Huntington Beach toward helping individuals experiencing homelessness and those living with a mental illness.

To ensure attendees received complete information and had all their questions answered, I had our Director of Continuum of Care, Doug Becht, and our Director of Housing and Community Development, Julia Bidwell, present as guest speakers.

Thank you to Homeless United HB for the volunteer support you provide our local communities. Your efforts are invaluable to helping end homelessness.

For more information, please visit the Office of Care Coordination’s website

It was an honor to recognize Chief Michael Claborn on his appointment as the new Police Chief for the City of Los Alamitos last week.

Chief Claborn is a U.S. Army veteran. He started his career with the Los Angeles Police Department and after four years he lateraled to the City of Santa Ana where he served for the past 21 years. Chief Claborn earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Cal State Long Beach and has authored an article on Suicide Awareness and Officer Wellness.

Congratulations, Chief Claborn, and best wishes on your new appointment!

Have you heard the latest buzz in Westminster?

Westminster High School is the first high school in California to participate in a beekeeping project on campus.

Through a partnership with the Community Action Partnership of Orange County and with startup funds from the USDA, Westminster High School accepted the bees from a local company, Honey Pacifica. Their goal is to create a sanctuary for six queen bees and 60,000 worker bees to live, work, and eventually produce honey, beeswax, and other hive by-products.

This beekeeping project is a great addition to their already existing agricultural program, one that includes an 8-acre Giving Farm where students grow donations for local food pantries.

Congratulations to the students at Westminster High School for all of their hard work and to Principal Amy Sabol and advisor Dave Eusantos for helping our students unlock their full potential!

Click here to read more about this innovative program.  

Dynamite Book Club volunteers have done it again!

Last month, volunteers installed two free lending libraries at Rush Park in Rossmoor. A special thanks to Open Hands of Hope’s coordinator moms, Marta and Catherine, for your many devoted hours helping students build and paint these little lending libraries for the public to use.

Follow Dynamite Book Club on social media to see if there is a Free Lending Library near you. If not, send them a DM to bring one to your neighborhood!

Facebook: @dynamite.book.club.littlefreelibrary  

Instagram: @dynamite.book.club

Congratulations to La Quinta High School Creative Writing Students for placing in 3 different contests this year! These students submitted impactful short films about suicide prevention and mental health awareness. One of the videos also won two awards in the prestigious 56th Annual California Student Media Festival. 

Check out all videos in the following sites below:

Media Festival

Directing Change

Garden Grove School District

Join OC Public Libraries for Lunch at the Library this summer. Meals are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Garden Grove Chapman Library

9182 Chapman Ave, Garden Grove

Garden Grove Main Library

11200 Stanford Ave, Garden Grove

Click here for more information.

OC Parks Summer Concert Series and Sunset Cinema Film Series

OC Parks is hosting the Summer Concert Series and the Sunset Cinema Series once again this summer! Come and enjoy live music and movie screenings under the summer sky at county regional parks with friends and family.

Entrance to all parks and parking is free. Food trucks will be serving at each location and a beer and wine garden will be available to those 21 and over.

Click here for more information.