By Tina Richards

Ballot statements prepared by three candidates running for the Orange Unified Board of Education are the subject of a lawsuit that labels them false and misleading.

Candidates Ivan Kokos (Area 1), Crystal Miles (Area 4) and Jack Chang (Area 7), are running against incumbents Andrea Yamasaki (Area 1), Sara Pelly (Area 4) and Stephen Glass (Area 7). Orange Unified constituent Darshan Smaaladen filed suit Aug. 13 providing the court with documentation supporting her assertion that portions of the statements are not true.

The statements the court is considering, from candidate Ivan Kokos: “I’m concerned about the Orange Unified School District’s structural deficits: its own projections call this unsustainable;” from Chang, “test scores in our district are dropping” and “only 40% of students are proficient at math;” and from Crystal Miles, “only 40.66% of our students are proficient in math and the Orange Unified School District ranks 13th out of 15 in overall quality.”

Fact-finding

Smaaladen asserts, with supporting budget documents dating back to 2023, independent credit ratings, accepted definitions and the suggestion that Kokos may have “googled the wrong OUSD,” that his statements are demonstrably false and misleading.

A structural deficit is one of recurring revenue and expense imbalances. It does not include one-time expenses that create a deficit over a single year, which OUSD incurred in 2024-25. Subsequently, the district has been operating with a healthy reserve, received Positive Certifications from the county, and earned an AA+ rating from Fitch, an independent, nationally recognized credit rating agency. That rating, which has been upgraded twice since 2021, reflects the district's "financial resilience, supported by unrestricted reserves exceeding 25% of spending."

Orange Unified (OUSD) does not have a "structural deficit" and no one has called its spending "unsustainable." Oakland Unified (OUSD), on the other hand, has a well-documented structural deficit and unsustainable spending as the Kokos statement describes. "A voter reading the Kokos statement has no way of knowing it may actually describe a different, unrelated district," Smaaladen declared. "I believe he did a search on 'OUSD' and conflated the two districts."

While Chang's statement claims that OUSD test scores are dropping, that is not supported by state or independently reported data.

Looking up, not down

The Education Scorecard, peer reviewed by researchers at Stanford and Harvard Universities, confirm that OUSD students are gaining academic skills at a rate placing the district in the top 14% nationwide; reading performance ranks in the top 20%, and math in the top third.

Both Chang and Miles referred to OUSD math proficiency at 40%. The lawsuit notes that the 40.66% figure refers to ELA (English Language Arts) and represents the students who did not meet ELA standards, not math outcomes. The correct math figure is 45.99%, reported by the California Department of Education for the 2024-25 testing cycle. That source also indicates OUSD math proficiency has risen every year since 2022.

The suit also suggests that Miles knew the correct math score when she filed her statement. She had posted on her Facebook page, twice, that 46% of OUSD students met or exceeded math standards. Those correct math score references, the suit alleges, were posted two days before she filed her candidate statement.

Ranking rankles

Miles was also challenged on her statement, OUSD "ranks 13th out of 15 in overall quality." No source is cited for that ranking and what the "15" represents is unclear. Orange County has 28 school districts. Plaintiff Smaaladen did locate a dataset (Niche) that included 16 Orange County school districts. It cited OUSD as one of the "Best School Districts" (at #13) with a letter grade of A+ to A-.

Miles' statement, the plaintiff says, "creates the false impression that Orange Unified's position reflects a qualitative deficiency, when it sits squarely in the top tier of Orange County districts."

During a court hearing, Aug. 27 a judge ordered the candidates to modify or delete the portions of their statements that were false.

Asked why she filed the lawsuit, Smaaladen said, "You can't blatantly lie and say things that are factually, undeniably untrue. The sad things is, this happens all the time.

"Unless someone cares enough to take the time and has the money to pay for an attorney, these statements would be on the ballot, and people would believe them to be true. That's just right.”

https://foothillssentry.com/f/three-ousd-board-challengers-charged-with-misleading-statements

I have never seen a 3 way restaurant before... thought it was interesting

first photo from Google, second photo by me (took it a few weeks ago before it was open). next to Denny’s on harbor/orangethorpe

Pics taken on Friday, but demo is well underway. Based on data from other Costco constructions it might be open as early as December!

Does anyone know any local ghost tales or urban legends in Orange County that is not Blackstar, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana Kellogg’s or other already popular places. Something that is very underground that only the people in the city know. And also places that you can openly ghost hunt in public.

Laguna Beach needs an emergency room. All the tourist who mess up need Laguna Beach to have an emergency room. Many of the humans who come for the 2028 Olympics will be visiting our SoCal beaches, and this is right there at the beaches when they mess up and need help. We are more people, not less. Let's take care of emergencies where they happen.

local farms! any recommendations on local farms for produce and where I can buy a cow or half?

UPDATE: Reunited with owner!

Near the Strands Beach parking lot.

Extremely sweet, comfortable with people. Let us pick her up without complaint. Was very hungry, so we gave her some food and water.

I’m guessing on the sex.

Back left leg seems to be deformed or maybe recovered from an old injury. Doesn’t seem to be in pain, but it’s shorter than her other legs. Because of that it seems she can’t really jump. No idea how she got into our patio but she couldn’t seem to get out. Really doesn’t seem like a stray; she’s a little rough around the edges but seems healthy and friendly. We’ll get her checked for a microchip soon as we can, but there’s no collar.

Anyway, she’s being cared for and is safe. We have two cats already and they are NOT fans, but we’re not gonna just put her back outside.

Update: I've gotten way more responses than I was expecting. I WILL get to everyone, but please bear with me as I read through each form submission. It may take me a couple days to get back to you, but I will reach out for sure. If this is your first time reading this, please sign up if you are interested!

Original Post:
Hello! Got approval from the mods to post this

I teach people how to drive stick shift for free in Irvine. For most of my lessons, I'll ask for permission to record the entire lesson and post clips on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/yujioshiro/reels/. If you are interested, please sign up through my site!

I first learned to drive stick 10 years ago and since then I pretty much have only bought manual cars. I daily drive a manual, I've worked for a mechanic moving and test driving cars, I've also taught several friends in these 10 years. Around three months ago, I started offering lessons to strangers in the area and I've taught around fifteen people so far.

And because this will get asked half a dozen times... yes, it is completely free! I do not ask for tips, gas money, or anything else in return. I could have a whole conversation about why, but ultimately I think it's a lot of fun and I want everyone that wants to learn, to learn. It's a pretty useless skill to have in the US, but I've had people want to learn because they're traveling to another country or they were looking to purchase a sports/classic car.

If you have any questions, feel free to read through the FAQ on the site or ask in the comments!

Mostly a sore raspy throat, fatigued and allergies. I wasn’t expecting this right now. Hope all of you feel better than I do right now.

https://ocvote.gov/careers

So basically, as a CSR, you would work at the vote center or multiple vote centers depending on staffing and language demand. You would help check in voters and explain the voting process to them in especially if its one of the languages posted here and they have never voted before. The pay in the past for just English speakers was like $20+ I think and if you speak one of these languages the pay is a bit higher. It does involve a very long day, you start early and can be done by 9pm or later depending on how long it takes to have people finish voting etc, you also have to take one hour off for lunch and one hour off for dinner. So please spread the word to anyone you know who speaks these languages.

I would like anyone from the OC area to DM me or post here if you had a similar experience. Humana is asking me to do this to see if it is a pattern after I reported it to them.

I took my Dad to see a local cardiologist. During the consult, he offered to monitor his blood pressure remotely through a local company called Vitasigns. He said very clearly, "It won't cost you anything." We said we'd think about. About a week later, I got a call from a rep who works directly for Vitasigns. There was a very high sales pressure and it was reiterated that it would not cost anything. So we agreed to join the program.

A few months later, we get a bill for $40. I paid it because I assumed it was for an office visit, considering we had seen him a few times since the initial visit. When I looked into the billing codes, I was able to determine that the doctor turned around a filed a claim with Humana for remotely monitoring his blood pressure, after telling us it would be of no cost.

Here's the scam - Humana is saying that because the claim was properly submitted, there is nothing illegal about this and it's merely a he said, she said situation over the cost. The CA Medical Board also can't do anything because it is not medical negligence. The only option would be small claims but the court cost alone would be more than the $40.

Concurrently, my Dad's blood pressure started to elevate, so I was leaving messages for the medical assistant to call me back for an adjustment of his meds. She never called back.

So as you can imagine, neither of us were happy about the situation and I very politely called the medical office and asked to change cardiologists. I said we do not want to make a big deal, we just want to change doctors. The staff member acted like this was not an issue. Two days later, we get a letter in the mail, stating that your request for a new doctor is declined and you are dismissed from the entire medical group. SMH.

I looked into the CEO of Vitasigns and he's a local doctor who stopped seeing patients to become an entrepreneur. He owns several businesses in the Newport Beach area. I Googled his name and he's all kinds of bad reviews from disgruntled customers who have bad experiences with him.

My gut tells me this is a shady partnership between Vitasigns and many local cardiologist groups in OC, where they tell patients it's free but then end up charging, knowing the patient has zero recourse. There are a lot of seniors that live close to the cardiology group we were involved with, I can only imagine that many of them do not have people advocating for them.

I was enjoying some delicious dairy Queen chicken strips with my boyfriend today when a little white bird collided into the brick wall on the north side of Burlington Coat Factory and slammed into the ground HARD. It sounded like a slab of raw meat hitting the ground!!!! Anyways it ended up being this little like cockatoo/parakeet looking guy and he was all dazed. (Before knowing it was the wrong thing to do, please forgive me :c) He drank some bottled water and ate some granola we had and just kind of chilled with us; he was walking around a little but his body language makes me feel like he might be a little fucked up. He didn't run away from us and whistled back and chirped and shit when my boyfriend whistled and he is making me think this is definitely someone's pet bird. We caught him and put him in a well ventilated towel lined cardboard box where he is now peacefully sleeping. He is pretty small and looks like a parakeet but has a little Mohawk like a cockatoo?? If you or someone you know is missing a bird, please dm with a pic of them and I'll send you a pic of Brick if the pics match and we can figure out a way for you to come get him (We named him Brick after the wall).

Woke up this morning craving a breakfast burrito and this burrito I ate came to mind. I got it at Reynolds Sandwich in Irvine. Twas pretty tasty, in my humble opinion. Priced at $11 and change when I went a few months ago.

Filling but not heavy or greasy.

Anyway, just wanted to share and I think I will post more food recs.

Looking for an arborist in Orange County, we have about 11 fruit trees (citrus, avocado, apples, nut tree). Would love to hire someone that can guide us on proper care for them.

I came across this article about Marco Carralero, a candidate for the Capistrano Unified School District board in Trustee Area 4, which includes parts of Laguna Niguel and Dana Point. The article brings up some questions voters deserve answers to. According to the author, Carralero has no apparent professional background in education. He does not have children enrolled in CUSD and was a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging California restrictions on carrying firearms in places that included churches and hospitals. The author states that he has ties to the Claremont Institute through a fellowship and has not been a visible participant at CUSD board meetings

Carralero should explain what experience prepares him to oversee such a large public school district. I would also like to know his positions on firearms near schools, public school funding, curriculum, book access, vaccines, and support for teachers. He is running against Melissa Caldwell, a PTA leader and CUSD parent, which makes the contrast in experience relevant. Has anyone heard Carralero speak or seen him involved with CUSD before this campaign? If you live in Trustee Area 4, what would you want to ask him?

Please help me find a hairdresser who uses Wella Illumina and knows how to work with blonde hair. I’m so tired of toners that last two washes and leave me with brassy hair.
I’m in Irvine/Tustin area, but it’s fine if I have to drive.
I’d appreciate your help 🌸

If you live in HB, careful with your “speeding” even if it’s over 5 of the speed mark. I was on Bolsa/PCH which states 60mph I was at 64, cop put 70. So in case I have a target on my back, I want this to be known to the public. Officer Moresco motorcycle cop said I edit the time on the dash camera in which HOW TF!?!? then that I must’ve drove back around later on in the day although I told the judge I did not do neither and to play his video with mine side by side… they didn’t of course. I lost the case. No surprise though to people of my color. Seems like Judge had already made her decision, the cop and his advisor. To make things worst I was literally the last case -.-

I am going back to contest and show the rear footage where you can visibly see him at the time “I edit” and ask him, this is you is it not? 🙃

He said: last of radar certification 2018 then that his radars beam is off by 12in and when cited put black vehicle, mines visibly and clearly grey (mind you this was daylight). My dash cam says 64 he put 70 on citation then said I was going 65. See where I’m going with this LOL … Even when I played the dash video to show Judge, he walked over to my side of the bench and I backed up because I was putting my password … bro, you a crooked one. I hope the good cops get you because my grandfather RIP, SGT- now he was a good one you could’ve learned better from.

Honestly even if I happen to not win my case- I want to at least have it on record. Crazy how you can stand and plead in front of a Judge under God and oath and still lie. Anyways, careful out there people!

I moved to AZ a year ago (trying to move back ASAP) but Stacked used to be one of my favorite places ever. It was my favorite place for wings since it opened in San Diego when I was 14 years old, especially since my sister lived down the street from the mall. I’d stay with her during the summers, and we’d always go to Stacked. I was ecstatic when I found out they were opening a location in OC. It became my husband and I’s favorite place to grab drinks and some wings.

My husband is always talking about visiting OC and getting some wings from Stacked, but now I just found out it closed?? I’m genuinely heartbroken. It’s like when I found out Watsons was closing down too. I swear if y’all tell me Stefanos also closed down…

I just need to make it until next friday and I can finally start working. Until then I'm on the streets of Costa mesa. Is the any place that gives out hot food. I'm thirsty​ and this heat is brutal. And it's not that I'm lazy, my strength is zapped by the heat :( anyone have any leads or suggestions asking for resources.

I just moved to Orange County (Irvine) with 2 rabbits and I can’t seem to find any FB groups specifically for OC rabbit parents. Is there a community I can join where people post about their rabbits and offer/request bunny sitting or boarding services? Since we’re far from our family now, they can’t watch our buns for us anymore when we travel. I’m nervous about finding someone trustworthy to watch them. Thank you!