Highlights about Public Safety & Police

The Stockton City Council debates a new face-covering ordinance, weighing public safety, constitutional rights, legal risks like Modesto’s ACLU lawsuit, enforcement capacity, and the potential for uneven policing in a majority-people-of-color city. The council ultimately passes the ordinance in a 6–1 vote, with the mayor dissenting.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners adopts the 2026 budget, setting new county tax bills, outlining school funding per student, and approving plans for opioid settlement spending and future use of occupancy tax revenue after a failed attempt to scale back the tax increase. The board also signs off on a 10-year, $863 million capital plan and unanimously locks in the final design, price, and added funding for the new crisis diversion facility.

The Durham City Council wrestles with renewing an Axon surveillance technology contract, weighing AI safeguards, civilian oversight, data control, and competing visions of public safety while hearing sharply divided public comments. The council also reviews rising election costs and considers major charter changes—including ward representation, term lengths, voting methods, and even-year elections—alongside updates on homelessness strategy and industrial pollution at a long‑running Brenntag site.

The Durham Public Schools Board of Education confronts rising chronic absenteeism with new data-driven, relationship-focused strategies while debating how discipline, economic stress, and student safety shape who shows up to class. The board also finalizes immigration-enforcement procedures for campuses and approves a legislative agenda calling for full K–12 funding and stronger support for every learner.