Newsletter: TimesOC: O.C. clears out massive encampments along river

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Jan. 24. Here’s what’s been happening around O.C.

Top story

Homeless wonder where they will go as O.C. clears out massive encampments along river

For the past few months, Orange County has been methodically and deliberately clearing the massive homeless encampments along the banks of the Santa Ana River. Authorities started at the Pacific Ocean and moved north. This week, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department started clearing the last and largest encampment near Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Officials estimate that between 500 and 1,000 people live there. Los Angeles Times

Around the county

Santa Ana Women’s March draws more than 15,000

More than 15,000 people marched through the streets of downtown Santa Ana in the second Women’s March protest, joining hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in separate marches in cities throughout the country. Voice of OC

Program encourages food stamp users to stock up on fruits and vegetables

Rebeca Gonzalez grew up eating artichokes from her grandmother’s farm in the central Mexican state of Tlaxcala. But for years after emigrating to the U.S. she did not feed them to her own kids because the spiky vegetables were too expensive on this side of the border. When she prepared meals at her family’s Garden Grove home, Gonzalez also omitted avocados, a staple of Mexican cuisine that is often costly here. Los Angeles Times

Business

O.C. electronics companies debut latest innovations at international show

With nearly 4,000 exhibitors and more than 2.75-million square feet of show floor, the International Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, is a mecca for geeks and technology companies (many from Orange County) who gather in Las Vegas every January to see and showcase the latest innovations. Daily Pilot

Food

Column: Yang’s Braised Chicken Rice is hearty winter comfort food

“Nights like these call for wool socks and comfort food, dishes that are not necessarily decadent or rich, but that are still hearty enough to warm you from the inside out,” writes food critic Sarah Bennett. “Since it opened in September, this has meant going to Yang’s Braised Chicken Rice in Tustin, where tonight I melted into yet another steaming clay pot filled with the only thing this wildly successful one-dish Chinese fast food chain serves: the nourishing and addictive huang men ji.” TimesOC

Life & arts

Broadway stars Chita Rivera and Tommy Tune to headline Irvine concert

After seven decades of Broadway hits, multiple theatrical awards and film credits, Chita Rivera will step out on stage with performer Tommy Tune for “Just in Time,” a celebration of song and music to be presented Saturday at Irvine Barclay Theatre. TimesOC

Laguna Art Museum, one of the oldest in the state, celebrates 100 years

Today, the century-old Laguna Art Museum stands as the oldest in the county. As part of its 100th year, the museum will host a series of celebratory functions this year, beginning with the Centennial Bash on Saturday featuring exhibits from local artists and live music from Matt Costa and deejay Nina Tarr. TimesOC

Opinion

Op-Ed: Should we set up New Deal-style work camps for the needy?

“This scenario mirrors what happened in the Great Depression,” opinion columnist Gustavo Arellano writes about plans to evict homeless people from the trails along the Santa River. “Townspeople and politicians alike initially protested the Okie enclaves because, according to (Walter J.) Stein, the respectable class felt they ‘foisted upon them an unnecessary and dangerous concentration of migrants.’” Los Angeles Times

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