First in a series about the “Founding Fathers (and Mothers)” of Orange County and its cities. By Jim Tortolano The Civil War had been over for just nine years. General George Custer’s […]
A.G. Cook planted Garden Grove
FC bridges past to present
Editor’s note: First in a series of visits to historically significant locations in Orange County. By Jim Tortolano Orange County’s most senior institution of higher learning is a “junior” college. Technically, Fullerton […]
Book: ‘New Deal’ for Orange County
By Jim Tortolano Although Barack Obama in 2012 made strong inroads into Republican domination of Orange County during presidential elections, only once in history has O.C. swung toward the Democrats. That was […]
Cities now coming full circle
By Jim Tortolano Old is the newest trend in American living. I’m not talking about the steady march of baby boomers toward senior citizen’s discounts, but the popularity of living styles which […]
County’s long (& maybe shady) birth
By Jim Tortolano Sometimes you hear people complaining about having to drive to the civic center of Santa Ana to do business at County of Orange offices. Can you imagine having to […]
The cities formerly known as ….
By Jim Tortolano It’s not just celebrities or serial spouses who change their names. Many a city – some of them big – trade in one monicker for another for a […]
A century of colleges in OC
By Jim Tortolano These days, the minimum entrance requirement into the middle class life is believed to be a college degree. Yet in Orange County, for more than half of its history, […]
“Catch 22” gift to the county
By Jim Tortolano It was once one of the largest air force training bases in the world, and yet it had no airplanes, hangars or runways. It was a major setting in […]
Another downtown growing in GG?
By Jim Tortolano Beloved Orange County historian Jim Sleeper once remarked that local redevelopment agencies have turned many historic OC locations into “historic parking lots.” This applied especially to central business districts […]
Days of Future Not Past
By Jim Tortolano Family legend has it that I was born during a hurricane in Providence, Rhode Island in June of 1953. A check of records show that my arrival was actually […]
