“Jaws” rescue trapped motorists

Two motorists trapped in their vehicles Monday morning in Stanton were rescued by firefighters of the Orange County Fire Authority.

According to the OCFA, a head-on collision in the area of Lampson Avenue and Beach Boulevard called for the use of the “Jaws of Life” device to pry open the crushed frame of the vehicles.

The patients were transported to a local trauma center by paramedics. The OCFA provides firefighting, rescue and medical aid services to Stanton, as well as Garden Grove and Westminster.

Tax overseers for OCTA wanted

The Orange County Transportation Authority is seeking qualified volunteers to serve on the Taxpayer Oversight Committee, which monitors the agency’s use of funding generated by Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.

The independent, 11-member oversight committee ensures that all revenue collected by Measure M is spent on voter-approved transportation improvements, approves all changes to the Measure M plan, also known as OC Go, and holds annual public hearings on the expenditure of funds. The half-cent sales tax measure was first passed by voters in 1990 and was renewed by nearly 70 percent of voters in 2006.

Recruitment is currently taking place for openings in the First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Supervisorial Districts. All interviews will be held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic and committee meetings will be held remotely for the foreseeable future in accordance with state and local guidelines.

Measure M is expected to generate $11.6 billion through 2041. The plan dedicates 43 percent of funding to freeway improvements, 32 percent to local street projects and 25 percent to transit.

Applications for the volunteer position are available at octa.net/TOC.

Special election March 9 for supervisorial seat

Voting is already underway for the special election officially set for Tuesday, March 9 to fill a vacant seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The Second District post – serving west and coastal areas of the county from Los Alamitos to Huntington Beach to Newport Beach  – was vacated when Michelle Steel was elected to the 48th Congressional District seat, ousting Democrat Harley Rouda.

This is a non-partisan race, but with three strong Republican candidates – John Moorlach, Michael Vo and Kevin Muldoon – the county GOP is worried that the conservative vote will be split and allow Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley, a Democrat, to win with a plurality of vote ballots cast.