— Johnny Anchondo, 32, of Moreno Valley was arrested and charged with violating his parole after he allegedly committed traffic violations in Fullerton, then, beginning at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, led police on a high-speed chase through L.A. and Orange counties that “quickly escalated into multiple stolen vehicles, erratically ramming into police cars and gunfire at a gas station in Hacienda Heights,” reports the L.A. Times. In a sidebar story, Times writers Summer Lin and Gregory Yee provide the full anatomy of the incident.
— A woman gave birth to a baby girl on the 5 Freeway in Anaheim while her husband drove her to the hospital Wednesday night. Jeffrey Kiyomura said it was around 9 p.m. when he and his wife, Ally, left their home in Gardena to drive to UCI Medical Center because her contractions were about four minutes apart. “She figured the baby was going to come early,” Kiyomura, 33, said in an interview with OnScene.TV while standing on the side of the freeway after his wife had given birth. The newborn and her mother are reportedly doing well.
— Some performers at the Medieval Times dinner theater castle in Buena Park say they endure long hours and sometimes dangerous duties for low wages, with minimal say over their working conditions. Yesterday afternoon they cast ballots in the castle’s dungeon to determine whether or not they join the American Guild of Variety Artists; results on the union vote were not available as of this newsletter’s deadline.
— Renting an apartment in Orange County will be getting more expensive, with a USC Casden Economics Forecast released Thursday predicting continuing rent increases over the next two years, according to a news item posted by City News Service. Apartment rents are projected to increase an average of $184 in Orange County, according to the forecast.
— While the final outcome of the Laguna Beach City Council election has not been announced, Alex Rounaghi, current Mayor Sue Kempf and Mark Orgill appear to be poised to claim the three open seats on the five-person panel. It was clear from early returns that incumbent Peter Blake, a polarizing member of the council who came under attack for his lack of civility when addressing members of the public during his first term, will not be returned to the dais.
— Orange County’s children’s hospital remains full with influenza and RSV patients, with some older kids being sent to other area hospitals for care, but the county’s COVID-19 metrics remained about the same as last week, according to data released Thursday by the Orange County Health Care Agency and reported on by City News Service.
The original story can be found here.