Working During a Pandemic: Hazardous or Not?

*Editors note: Names and places have been changed for privacy and safety reasons*   Hours before the sun rises Andres Ino is already up and moving, preparing for the long day ahead of him. He has kept this schedule for years and is used to a quiet house…

Resolving the Dangers of Food Insecurity During a Pandemic

Writer’s Note: During a pandemic, one of the lessons we learn is to value the hard work and selfless efforts of essential workers. They are truly heroic to sacrifice themselves during a time when we need them the most. Thank you to all Essential Workers at the FRESH…

College Students Filing for Unemployment

  In the United States, there are over 30 million people who have filed for unemployment because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In California, all you need to file a claim is to be totally or partially unemployed, unemployed through no fault of your own, physically able to work,…

A Cup of Coffee and A Danish

Editor’s note: This story was reported and written in the Fall of 2018. We have preserved the original story for the integrity of the piece. The Sheriffs Department of Santa Ana has transitioned to releasing inmates at 8am now. …
Photo taken by Yessy Camacho

The Time to Care

  By Óscar Fernando García This article was supposed to be about the contract win between American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees (AFSCME), the union that represents the 16,000 patient care and 10,000 service workers employed by the University of California and the UC system. But…

Are Unpaid Internships Exploitative to College Students?

Written by Daisy Murguia I was browsing through Twitter one afternoon when I noticed a tweet that said, “Unpaid internships should be illegal” repeated seven times. The tweet reached over 80,000 retweets. If you search “Unpaid internships should be illegal” in the Twitter browser, you’ll find thousands of…

The Existential Dread of Completing Financial Aid Forms

Written by Christina Kevorkov For a high school senior or a newly-admitted college student, the FAFSA or Free Application for Student Aid is a government form that determines someone’s eligibility for receiving financial aid to usually cover the annual fees of baccalaureate/undergraduate degree.  While their federal website confidently…

Beacon On a Hill: How This Shelter Is Transforming Young Lives

Written by Óscar Fernando García A cluster of cozily set houses on 17th Street in Santa Ana blend into the surrounding neighborhood. Had I been strolling through, I probably wouldn’t have given a second glance at Mary’s Path, a shelter for young mothers and their children. I wouldn’t…

Blurring the Lines Between Business and Community

Written by Daisy Murguia Laughter, chatter, and the smell of french toast fill Toast Kitchen and Bakery, a restaurant in Costa Mesa. The tables are an earthy woody tone, and there are flower arrangements on almost every table. The restaurant is inviting but easy to miss since it…

That was four or more months ago

Written by Lori Sinanian Did the title of this piece catch your attention because you were wondering what happened four months ago? Did you notice the word “or” in the title, and felt the unsure connotation it brought of whether or not it was actually around four months…