MORE: Read all the candidate responses in our Voter Guide

Name: Jimmy D. Pham

Current Job Title: City commissioner + attorney

Political Party Affiliation: Democrat

Incumbent: No

Other political positions held: Westminster City Commissioner

City where you reside: Westminster

Campaign website or social media: www.jimmyphamca.com

Gov. Newsom has been front and center lately in global affairs, from a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing climate action to a trip to Israel where he met with victims of the Hamas attack. Aside from the governor’s trips, what do you see as the role California should play when it comes to foreign affairs?

Foreign affairs is the business of the federal government, and the role of the governor when visiting foreign nations should be in helping to find new markets for products manufactured in California and promote California businesses and tourism to bring new visitors and create jobs in our state.

There have been recent efforts at the local level to change voting requirements — from a proposed voter ID requirement in Huntington Beach to an effort to open up voting to noncitizens in Santa Ana. What changes, if any, should be made to California’s voting laws?

The right for every citizen to vote in free and fair elections is one of the great engines of our democracy. If anything, voting access, especially with in-person vote centers and drop boxes, should be increased — especially in underserved communities to ensure every registered voter has access to materials in their native language and has every ability to cast a vote.

The latest state budget projections show California’s deficit has swelled to a record $68 billion, leading to calls for spending cuts. Give us two specific ways California could address the deficit.

The state legislature was late to recognize the coming shortfall, and if elected, I would be vigilant in ensuring our budgets are balanced each year. As a business owner, attorney and city commissioner, I know what it means to keep a ledger balanced — as do families throughout Orange County who don’t have the luxury of running a deficit. Although California has record reserves that should help soften the blow of the upcoming deficit, to help put us in a stronger position for the future, more of the state’s spending, especially on homelessness and social programs, needs to come with accountability to ensure those programs are effective and leads to people getting off the streets.

In addition, a fairer corporate tax rate that ensures the wealthiest corporations in California are paying their fair share would help balance the state’s budget.

Speaking of the budget, what are your top three budget priorities?

– Ensuring our schools have the funding to make certain every child has access to a top-quality education.- Ensuring essential government functions are met with no layoffs or job cuts as we weather the budget shortfall.- Ensuring our hospitals and healthcare system have adequate funding for everyone to have access to quality and affordable healthcare.

The legislature garnered national headlines when an effort to increase penalties for child sex trafficking initially stalled. How would you, in the legislature, balance criminal justice reform with public safety concerns?

As an immigration attorney, I see every day the need to reform a broken immigration system and stand up for those seeking justice and humanitarian rights. I deal with human trafficking as part of my work in helping T visa (trafficking) victims and assisting non-citizen immigrants to apply for green cards and citizenship through the U visa and VAWA federal programs.

In addition, public safety is certainly a high priority lately, especially with the rise in smash-and-grab robberies and the release of criminals from prison due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a candidate for Assembly District 70, keeping criminals off our streets and reducing crime in the district would be one of my top priorities.

Homelessness continues to be a concern for Californians. While there is no simple solution, what is one proposal you have that could reduce homelessness in our communities?

We as a state and as a society need to re-prioritize mental health and getting help for those with mental health or substance abuse issues — who make up a high percentage of those who are homeless. State, county and local governments need to all work together to make getting help for those in need a top priority — not just off the streets and into shelters, but real help that leads to lasting treatment.

Furthermore, the affordability of housing and inflation in our economy has also made the homelessness epidemic worse. Tackling these collateral issues will contribute to reducing homelessness in our communities.

The governor recently signed a law that set a first-in-the-nation minimum wage standard for healthcare workers. Should minimum wage standards vary by industry? Why or why not?

Healthcare workers are the frontline of our healthcare system, and they and their families underwent a massive strain during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to staffing issues and burnout industry-wide. These workers were called “heroes” and saved and extended many lives as society owes a great debt to them and all who worked in the face of adversity during the pandemic and beyond. I believe each industry should be considered on a case-by-case basis, but I vehemently agree that healthcare workers deserve a higher minimum wage standard.

What is one environment or climate policy you’d champion if elected?

California has led the way on the environment and climate policy, and if elected I would continue this tradition and work to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to reduce emissions through renewable energy programs and protecting our precious natural spaces. I believe other forms of energy such as solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen energy and other newer renewable sources may be the answer to lessen society’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy consumption.

What is one capital improvement project you’d like to see financed and completed in your district?

I would like to begin the preparation, installation and construction of a foot-traffic bridge over Bolsa Avenue at the Asian Garden Mall and work with the cities of Westminster and Garden Grove and Caltrans to finally complete the 405/22 interchange freeway project.

The state recently began rolling out the CARE Court program in some counties, the state-funded effort that allows first responders, family and other designated people to petition a court to have someone with untreated severe psychotic disorders receive treatment and services. What other ways can the state prioritize mental health care for its residents, including those with less severe disorders?

Delivering a real community mental health system in our country and our state is a way the state can prioritize mental health care and treatment, with community clinics, partnering with non-profits and proven pilot programs and localized outreach services to ensure quality care for those who need it. There are many state and community organizations, like OC Autism Foundation, that with enough funding and sponsorship, can attack and help resolve the mental health epidemic head-on.

Describe your political philosophy in 10 words or less.

Committed to service and putting working families and our community first.

What is your go-to campaign trail snack or drink?

Water, lots of vegetables and protein bars.

MORE: Read all the candidate responses in our Voter Guide

Name: Tri Ta

Current Job Title: State Assemblymember

Political Party Affiliation: Republican

Incumbent: Yes

Other political positions held: Former Westminster mayor

City where you reside: Westminster

Campaign website or social media: www.TriTaForAssembly.com

Gov. Newsom has been front and center lately in global affairs, from a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing climate action to a trip to Israel where he met with victims of the Hamas attack. Aside from the governor’s trips, what do you see as the role California should play when it comes to foreign affairs?

While California policies often have a global impact, the U.S. Constitution clearly defines foreign affairs as the domain of the federal executive and legislative branches of government. In the legislature, I have spearheaded initiatives related to foreign affairs, such as calling attention to human rights abuses committed by the communist regime in Vietnam. State government, however, should be focused first and foremost on the challenges faced by everyday Californians and should assume an advisory role when it comes to foreign affairs.

There have been recent efforts at the local level to change voting requirements — from a proposed voter ID requirement in Huntington Beach to an effort to open up voting to noncitizens in Santa Ana. What changes, if any, should be made to California’s voting laws?

We need to ensure our elections are secure, fair and produce accurate results. We should follow the Constitution and not allow noncitizens to vote.

The latest state budget projections show California’s deficit has swelled to a record $68 billion, leading to calls for spending cuts. Give us two specific ways California could address the deficit.

Just two years ago, the state had a $97 billion surplus. Last year, when I was sworn in for my first term in office, it had already dropped to a $24 billion deficit. California must return to abiding by the Gann spending limit, which was overwhelmingly supported by California voters, to moderate spending increases during boom years and protect our state from the boom and bust cycle we are currently facing. Our state desperately needs to bring back a limit on massive spending increases during boom years. We should also prioritize state spending on critical programs.

Speaking of the budget, what are your top three budget priorities?

– Public safety- Increase local control over tax dollars- Audit state spending and increase accountability

The legislature garnered national headlines when an effort to increase penalties for child sex trafficking initially stalled. How would you, in the legislature, balance criminal justice reform with public safety concerns?

I am a proud co-author of SB 14, a bill that ensures child trafficking is a felony in our state. Justice reform cannot be done by ignoring the plight of the victims. California has moved too far in protecting criminals, even violent ones. The impact on victims must be taken into account. Our laws should be fair, but they must also be enforced.

Homelessness continues to be a concern for Californians. While there is no simple solution, what is one proposal you have that could reduce homelessness in our communities?

I am currently working on legislation with cities in my district to ensure that they are able to properly fund local homeless outreach programs.

The governor recently signed a law that set a first-in-the-nation minimum wage standard for healthcare workers. Should minimum wage standards vary by industry? Why or why not?

In a state as large and economically diverse as California, a top-down approach will have some disastrous effects. Rural healthcare clinics and hospitals will have a hard time meeting this mandate and healthcare will become even more inaccessible for many Californians.

What is one environment or climate policy you’d champion if elected?

I was glad to see that the governor finally streamlined the approval process for the Sites Reservoir project. This important project will store enough water during the wet season to provide for 3 million Californian households. This should not be a one-off, and I will strongly support streamlining similar projects.

What is one capital improvement project you’d like to see financed and completed in your district?

Last year, I was able to deliver $1 million in additional state funding to build an accessible park in my district. I will continue to champion similar projects that provide a community-wide benefit and increase the quality of life we enjoy.

The state recently began rolling out the CARE Court program in some counties, the state-funded effort that allows first responders, family and other designated people to petition a court to have someone with untreated severe psychotic disorders receive treatment and services. What other ways can the state prioritize mental health care for its residents, including those with less severe disorders?

My focus will be on the implementation of the CARE court program. While this initiative could be key in ensuring individuals suffering from mental health disorders receive necessary treatment, it will only work if properly rolled out. The next year could be detrimental to California being able to treat the suffering we see on our streets every day if it is not done right.

Describe your political philosophy in 10 words or less.

Government should work for the people, not against them.

What is your go-to campaign trail snack or drink?

Pizza.

Recently, residents have been asking city councils to do what they can to influence the war waging half a world away between Israel and Hamas, leaving community leaders divided on what their responses should look like, or whether they should respond at all.

Last week, Santa Ana councilmembers split over what their place is in the 2-month-old conflict from the dais in City Hall. Stanton elected officials are expected to continue having that same conversation this week, and it’s been held in council chambers in Huntington Beach, Irvine and elsewhere around Southern California.

“A lot of our residents are, and have family members that have been, directly affected by this conflict,” Stanton City Councilmember Donald Torres said. He pitched his colleagues on having the council adopt on the city’s behalf a resolution in support of the Palestinian people of Gaza, condemning violence committed by both Hamas and Israel, and calling for a ceasefire. The council is expected to vote Tuesday, Dec. 12.

He recognized that some of his own constituents and colleagues have asked, “‘Why would a small city like Stanton choose to take on a resolution like this?’ And the truth is that international issues affect our community, 40% of our residents are born out of this country,” he said. “So, of course, geopolitics is going to affect our residents.”

Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez voiced a similar thought at the last Santa Ana council meeting when he proposed with Councilmember Benjamin Vazquez a resolution in support of Palestine and calling for a permanent ceasefire in the conflict.

“Oftentimes, the matters that we talk about here are very local, but this is a matter that is affecting us internationally,” Hernandez said. “I am proud to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. I also stand in solidarity with any group of people who are being subjected to violence. Who are being subjected to war. Who are being subjected to genocide.”

The two councilmembers failed, however, to garner enough support from their colleagues, in part because of the question of local government’s role.

In Irvine, where many protests in support of Palestine and pro-Israel vigils have taken place the past couple of months, members of the community recently pressured city leaders to adopt a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

“We as a city stand by all of our residents, their safety and their right to free speech,” Mayor Farrah Khan said at a recent council meeting following a string of community members addressing the council to take a position. “Today, we are seeing a growing number of elected officials from the local to the state and federal levels asking for a ceasefire and I stand with you and I continue to stand against violence and war anywhere in the world.”

Local leaders have made statements about the war since its early days in October. Huntington Beach officials previously passed a resolution on Oct. 17 condemning the Hamas attack and supporting Israel.

Huntington Beach Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark, who was recently appointed as the city’s mayor, said “every person, every county, every government around the world” should condemn Hamas. Councilmember Tony Strickland, then-mayor of the city, said it was “imperative” that the city stand with Israel.

Councilmember Natalie Moser said at the time she was concerned the resolution presented by Van Der Mark and Strickland was not appropriate because it lacked inclusivity.

“I think we have a community, which was expressed earlier tonight, of many different peoples,” Moser said at the October council meeting. “We have a very diverse community. I think potentially acknowledging that within this would be helpful.”

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua said her job as the city’s elected leader is to take care of all her constituents.

“We’re addressing city issues. We’re addressing our residents and our constituents,” Amezcua said. “Again, as a policy maker, we have no control, none whatsoever, over international matters. No matter what anybody says up here, we do not.”

But Councilmember Jessie Lopez pointed to the council’s previous public stances in support of Ukraine, in support of the Armenian community of Artsakh and lighting up the water tower blue in support of Israel.

It is far more common for state and federal elected officials to speak out on international affairs.

California Assembly Republicans have said they plan to introduce a resolution as soon as the legislature reconvenes next year “condemning Hamas” for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people.

Their hope is for the California legislature to “condemn the terrorist organization and its violent actions,” said Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach.

“This is a grievous situation. I’m proud the Republican Caucus is choosing to make a statement. Why hold back? To me, that’s a mistake in history when people hold back when they hear about grievous acts against fellow human beings, women and children,” Dixon said. “We cannot be silent.”

The assemblywoman, who previously served on the Newport Beach City Council, said besides state representatives potentially having a louder voice, she does not see much of a difference when it comes to speaking out on international issues.

“We all have constituents that we serve,” Dixon said. “They should know where their elected officials stand on these major issues.”

Last year, some California lawmakers called on state agencies to divest funds from Russia and Russian-state entities following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The state of California has incredible economic power and strength and we must use this clout for good,” Sen. Mike McGuire, who introduced the bill, said at the time.

The legislation never made it out of the Senate and eventually died.

U.S. Rep. Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills, recently led a bipartisan letter signed by about 90 House lawmakers pressing the UN Women, an organization of the United Nations that works for gender equity, to publicly condemn Hamas for its attack and brutality against women.

The Democratic Party of OC last week considered a resolution of “solidarity with the Palestinian people” that also called for a permanent ceasefire and end of United States military aid, but it did not receive enough support from the organization’s central committee.

Chair Ada Briceño said the voting body had already passed a statement in November calling on the U.S. government to “urge that Israel, Hamas, and any other entities immediately and permanently cease-fire.”

One key to avoiding those dreaded rolling blackouts is batteries, which can store energy harnessed by solar panels and wind turbines and then dispatch that electricity when and where it is needed. So, along with a need for new solar and wind farms to generate electricity, and new power lines to distribute it, California also is projected to need 52,000 megawatts of storage capacity to meet its goal of running entirely on clean energy by 2045.

We’re only starting to reach that goal. The state has 6,617 megawatts of storage capacity, according to an online dashboard the California Energy Commission launched in October. But that number is rising quickly, the agency said, with a nearly eight-fold jump over the past four years.

And this week marked the official opening of one of the largest battery storage projects in Southern California, a commercial facility capable of storing 68.8 megawatts of power — enough to run 65,000 homes for four hours — in Stanton.

“Right now the California energy grid is going through an amazing evolution — probably the biggest evolution since it was first energized,” said John Phipps, executive director of grid operations for the California Independent System Operator, or CAISO, which manages about 80% of the state’s electricity flow, during an event Wednesday, Dec. 6, to celebrate the Stanton facility’s official opening.

“The transition from the traditional fuel resources to the new clean energy or carbon-free resources is happening very quickly and introducing new operating characteristics on the grid we haven’t seen before,” Phipps said.

“So the flexibility that the storage resources such as Stanton Battery provides has become more and more critical to our daily operations and ensuring reliability of the grid.”

Wellhead, which has built power projects in California for more than 40 years, developed the Stanton Battery Energy Storage facility in partnership with W Power. It is situated on the back half of a 2-acre plot along Dale Avenue, behind a hybrid natural gas- and battery-powered plant Wellhead opened a few years ago. The projects are independent but can work together, with a potential to store power from the gas plant at the adjacent battery facility or dispatch stored energy over to run the plant’s turbines.

The entire facility was built in less than five months, with testing in July and the plant already running at maximum capacity. And they easily sell all the power they can store, according to Grant McDaniel, a director with Wellhead.

The Stanton facility relies on 15,540 lithium-ion batteries, similar to the ones that power cell phones and electric vehicles. Each is roughly a quarter the size of a Tesla car battery, with the 265-pound modules stacked on top of each other more than a dozen feet high and housed inside shipping container-style metal boxes.

When an energy generator, such as a solar farm or hydro plant, makes more power than it’s contracted to provide, that energy can be stored in the Stanton facility’s batteries. Otherwise, that energy would simply go to waste and the power producer would likely shut down until demand rises.

Instead, the stored power is listed as available for sale on the wholesale energy market that CAISO oversees, a trading arena that operates a bit like the stock market. Buyers such as Southern California Edison, which runs a substation across the street from the Stanton facility, can bid for the energy in real time, as needed. And CAISO coordinates it all, keeping prices down for consumers by matching providers with the most affordable energy on the market at that time.

Adding storage capacity to the mix can help energy providers and consumers when, say, demand spikes during a heat wave, or if utilities have to shut down other power lines during a period of elevated wildfire risks.

As Edison pivots to more renewables, company spokesman Jeff Monford said “adding energy storage is a primary focus.” That way, he said, utilities can draw on stored renewable energy “during the critical hours right after the sun goes down” rather than having to keep turning to natural gas-fueled power plants.

The Stanton plant has a sophisticated control system that can direct energy to charge or discharge from the batteries in milliseconds, explained Shaheen Fakhar, a software engineer director with Energy Vault, which engineered and built the facility. A display screen showed how the facility’s batteries send out increasing amounts of power to meet demand throughout each day before they start to recharge each night.

While newer lithium batteries, like these from Samsung, are much less likely to catch fire than models that came out even just a few years ago, Tim Mann with Wellhead explained that sensors are constantly monitoring for slight temperature increases or other warning signs. Alarm systems are in place and crews from Orange County Fire Authority have spent time at the facility, he said, with response plans aimed at keeping any fire that does happen contained within the walled-in facility.

Though company CEO Harold Dittmer declined to share specifics, he said a “very significant” portion of the storage facility’s total cost — listed on a White House website as $118 million — came in the form of a federal grant through the 2021 infrastructure package.

State and local officials who attended Wednesday’s ceremony said they see such facilities as a key part of our energy future.

“We have set some of the most ambitious climate goals in the world,” said Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine. But, she added, “We have a monumental task before us to actually achieve those goals to actually deliver and to realize our clean energy future.

“We need lots of renewable clean energy. We need systems that can harness that energy. We need resilient systems that can stay up in the face of unpredictable demand and even in the event of disaster. And most importantly, we need that now,” Petrie-Norris said. “And so this project is absolutely what Orange County needs. It’s absolutely what California needs.”

In a 4-0 vote this week, councilmembers instructed city staff to draft a ballot measure establishing three four-year term limits for the mayor’s seat. The measure will also include a provision to expand term limits for the four councilmembers’ seats — upping them from two four-year terms to three.

The ballot measure requires approval from the council before it can be placed on the 2024 ballot.

Term limits were established for councilmembers following the adoption of Measure RR in 2016.

But when Stanton switched to district-based elections in the following year, the mayor’s seat was designated to be an at-large position, unlike the rest of the council. Term limits enacted under Measure RR did not apply, allowing the mayor to serve unlimited terms of four years.

“It’s the only position that isn’t covered. The intention originally was for it to be covered,” said Councilmember Gary Taylor, alluding to the term limits established under Measure RR.

Councilmember Hong Alyce Van, who recommended the three-term limit across the board, said the current term limits hamper councilmembers from finishing long-term projects.

“As a councilmember, I feel like you spend your first term trying to figure out what you’re doing,” Van said. “You won’t actually be able to see projects from cradle to grave.”

Mayor David Shawver, who was first elected to the City Council in 1988 and has served several terms as mayor, was absent from the Aug. 22 meeting and did not vote.

In order to enact the new term limits, the council would first need to adopt a resolution calling for the measure to be placed on the ballot before voters are asked to consider the measure, according to a staff report. If a majority of Stanton residents vote in favor of the measure, any potential term limit would apply beginning in 2026, which is when Shawver’s current term expires.

City staff recommended the council to include the measure in the 2024 general election instead of a standalone special election due to cost. Holding a special election would cost between $513,583 and $547,415, according to city staff, while placing the measure on next year’s ballot will cost $8,500.

Anaheim residents Adrian Castaneda, 19, and Damian Ivan Mayorga, 18, as well as  Garden Grove resident Henry Diep Le, 19, are accused of fatally shooting Juan Cristalinas last June at the 7000 block of Lessue Avenue, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

Cristalinas, who was 49 and lived in Santa Ana, had been trying to help a 76-year-old man who was apparently being beaten by a group of men demanding money, the release said. The 76-year-old man was also shot but survived.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspects knew any of the victims.

“Juan leaves behind three sons, a loving wife, and three beautiful grandchildren. He was a hardworking, loving man. He had two jobs and spent his weekends working on cars as a mechanic. He was the kind of person who always stood up for others and wasn’t scared of doing the right thing,” a GoFundMe set up for Cristalinas said.

Castaneda, Mayorga, and Le were all being held at Orange County Jail as of Thursday evening, according to jail records.

Bail was set at $1 million each. Le was due in court Thursday, while Castaneda and Mayorga were expected to appear Friday.

Pizza delivery driver killed, elderly man wounded in Stanton neighborhood

Legal fireworks must have the State Fire Marshall seal on their packaging.

All cities in Orange County prohibit the use of fireworks without the state seal and many have hefty fines for those caught using illegal fireworks.

For more, see: Where you can see July 4 fireworks in Orange County

Here’s the information on when fireworks can be bought and used in those towns that do allow the “safe and sane” varieties:

Anaheim: Residents may purchase the approved fireworks from June 28 to July 4 at 16 stands, here is where you can find the nearest stand. Fireworks may only be used from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4. Sales end at 9 p.m. on the holiday.

Fireworks use is not allowed in the hilly eastern side of Anaheim where wildfires are a risk. The ban runs east of the 55 and east and southeast of the 91 freeway.

Buena Park: There will be safe and sane fireworks sold at booths throughout the city from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 1 to July 3 and 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. on July 4. Fireworks may be discharged from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on the Fourth.

Costa Mesa: Fireworks will be on sale from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from June 30 to July 3 and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 4. Fireworks may be discharged from 4 to 10 p.m. on July 2-4.

Fullerton: Stands open in the city from noon to 10 p.m. July 1 to 3 and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 4. Fireworks may be discharged from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4.

Garden Grove: Fireworks sales will be open in the city from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 1 through 3 and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4. Use of safe and sane fireworks is allowed on private property only from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4.

Huntington Beach: Safe and sane firework sales at city-approved booths will be from noon to 10 p.m. on July 1-3 and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 4. Fireworks may be used in the city only on July 4 – from noon to 10 p.m. No fireworks at the beach or in public places.

Los Alamitos: This year, the city joins the list of communities where safe and safe fireworks may be sold, allowing two booths to open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 1-4. The safe and sane fireworks may used in town only from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4.

For more, see: Which state-approved pyrotechnics are worth the price?

Santa Ana: The city allows booths hosted by community groups to sell safe and sane fireworks starting at noon on July 1. Hours are noon to 10 p.m. on July 1; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 2 and 3; and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 4. Fireworks may be discharged from July 1 to 4.

Stanton: Sales of safe and sane fireworks in the city are allowed from noon to 10 p.m. on July 1 and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 2 to 4. Approved fireworks may only be used on private residential properties and only from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 1-4.

Villa Park: Safe and sane fireworks will be sold at city-approved stands starting at 10 a.m. on June 30. Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 30 to July 3 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on July 4. Fireworks may be used from noon to 10 p.m. on July 4.

Westminster: Approved fireworks may be sold from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. starting on June 30 to July 3 and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on July 4. Fireworks may be discharged from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4 on residential streets.

And then, Pho’s thinking went, his son eventually would help him run Skin Design Tattoo, a multi-state business known as one of the best in the trade of skin art.

Instead, it’s his oldest daughter, Reena Pho, who at 19 has relocated from the family home in Hawaii to practice her craft at the Skin Design studio at the Rodeo 39 Public Market in Stanton.

And right behind her is younger sister Reesa Pho, 14, who, for now, is practicing on fake skin (a silicon pad) and lives with her parents in Honolulu.

As for the baby in the family, 3-year-old Vanna, who knows?

What matters to the 51-year-old father of four is not what choices his children make, just that they make good ones.

He learned that lesson in the hardest of ways.

As a teenager Pho made bad choices – to carry a gun, to join a gang, to commit crimes.  Those choices landed him in prison with a 14-year sentence at the age of 16.

Pho said those youthful decisions were driven by an urge to protect himself from the bullying and racist harassment he endured as an Asian immigrant in Southern California. He always fought back but he felt the sting keenly.

And, Pho said, his parents, who often argued, were strict and harsh, fueling his rebellion. They split up when he went to prison.

Pho said he’s not proud of who he was back then.

But he also doesn’t shy away from telling how his life changed when he learned to tattoo while in prison — and how his life kept changing later, through hard work and the support of his wife, Cristina. That better life has helped pave a better path for their children.

Over the past few years, Pho has been been lauded for what he’s overcome and for his talent as a tattoo artist and businessman. He’s been featured in newspaper and magazine articles, on TV news and online blogs.

He specializes in black-and-grey ink realism, creating skin art that looks like photographic portraits. But, really, he can do any style of tattoo.

Pho is so successful and in such demand that he can command a minimum of $4,000 to ink someone’s skin. He’s made as much as $350,000 for a full bodysuit.

He runs eight studios, including in Las Vegas, Nashville, and New York City, where he is working on opening a second location soon in the SoHo fashion district. His enterprise employs about 70 people, including his oldest daughter.

He hopes the trajectory of his life will inspire others to find their dream, believe in themselves and passionately pursue their goals.

Reena Pho knows she doesn’t have a backstory to match her father’s. She’s never been behind bars and never wants to. But – like father, like daughter – she’s skilled with a tattoo needle, earning anywhere from $1,000 to $12,000 a tattoo.

Her dad continues to nurture her career. And, while Reena Pho is fully licensed, she said, “I consider myself to still be an apprentice.”

Robert Pho said she already surpassed his expectations.

“It’s pretty much a dream come true to have your kids working alongside you.”

Earlier this month, the two joined tattoo artists from around the world at a convention in Ontario. Then the family spent time together in Orange County.

Reena Pho apprenticed more than a year under her dad, shadowing him in Skin Design’s Las Vegas studio. She moved to Orange County in March.

Pho sent his daughter to work at the Beach Boulevard location so she could become more independent. She’s distinguished not only by her relationship to the owner but by her strikingly long hair, which hangs down to her feet.

Her parents, she said, did not raise their children with the anger that the elder Pho said was part of his upbringing. Instead, she said, her parents have always been loving and supportive.

Who her father was as a youth is alien to her.

“I can never see him doing any of these things that he talks about,” she said during a recent chat as she waited for a late-afternoon client.

Sometimes, she added with a grin, “I think, ‘You’ve gotta be exaggerating.’”

He’s not.

Old ink, new ink

Robert Pho once memorialized the highlights of his wayward youth by inking them into his skin. That included the name of a gang he now won’t talk about because he doesn’t want to glorify them.

Years ago, he underwent the painful process of laser tattoo removal, swapping out old memories for new ones. These days, Pho’s torso, arms and legs display things he cares about, like his family.

The portraits include his parents, who fled Cambodia during the Vietnam War when Pho was 2. In 1980, after a couple of years in France, Pho, his parents, and younger sister were sponsored by relatives to emigrate to the United States.

They spent time all around Southern California, first in El Monte and then in Fontana, Ontario, Rowland Heights, and parts of the San Gabriel Valley.

In Cambodia, Pho’s father had been a professor. In this country, Pho’s father worked physical labor before saving enough to open a doughnut shop. His parents also ran a clothing factory in Los Angeles.

After Pho went to prison, and his parents split, they both chose to remarry.

Pho’s father was killed in New York City, in 2004, and Pho says he wishes he’d lived long enough to see his life after prison.

“I didn’t get to talk to him and show him how I’ve changed.”

Pho remembers vividly how unwelcome his immigrant family was made to feel. Often, he said, there were taunts from other kids and from grown-ups. They’d get kicked out of restaurants and told to go back to their own country.

The mistreatment, along with working early mornings, baking doughnuts alongside his father before school, fueled resentment in Pho.

Around the age of 12, he got caught bringing a gun to De Anza Middle School in Ontario. The gun, he said, was for protection.

“I had to. I was getting bullied.”

At Rowland Heights High School, he joined a gang. By the start of his junior year Pho was convicted of attempted murder and street terrorism.

Pho could have spent decades in prison, but the judge reduced his sentence. He served two years in the juvenile justice system, at the Youth Training School in Chino, a place so notorious for its brutality that inmates called it “Gladiator School.”

When he turned 18 Pho was transferred to an adult prison.

Hard time, in and out

“Really scared,” at first, Pho found adult prison to be more organized than Gladiator School, with self-governing rules and a population segregated itself by ethnic groups.

He learned to tattoo by watching other inmates. He fabricated a contraband machine, using a motor off a Sony Walkman radio, a needle honed from a guitar string, and ink that he created by mixing the ashes made by burning a foam cup filled with shampoo, toothpaste and baby oil.

Pho’s first tattoo was self-made; he wrote the name of his gang on his knees. He soon improved.

In prison, his skills as a tattoo artist earned him protection, which lasted for the seven years he served. Out of prison, it would take two decades before Pho’s skills earned him a following.

Art had always been a refuge. As a child, when he was punished and sent to his room, Pho escaped by drawing, penciling renderings of his comic book heroes: Captain America, Superman, Spiderman.

Once out of prison, with a criminal record and no high school diploma, escape wasn’t as easy. Pho’s employment options were limited. He earned sales commissions via door-to-door soliciting and making cold calls. He worked as a typist.

Despite those struggles he reconnected with a Filipina girl he’d known in high school and who wrote to him in prison – Cristina. They married in 1996, giving Pho an instant family with Cristina’s son from a previous relationship.

For a time, Pho was making some extra money on the side doing tattoos for people in the neighborhood.  An invitation from a paroled prison buddy brought him to North Carolina to help run the original Skin Design Tattoo studio.

By the time Reena was 2, Pho owned the business outright and had relocated to Las Vegas, where she grew up.

Still, for Pho, success felt distant.

His seven-days-a-week work schedule, and the fear of debt, prompted Pho to write a series of letters for his daughter — letters he didn’t show her until she was 12.

He later shared a couple of them on Instagram, explaining that they were written as an apology “to my daughter, wife, and to myself.”

He was, he said, contemplating suicide. “I thought I was failing them.”

In one letter, addressed to “My Baby Reena,” Pho explained his distress:

“My heart feels very hurt and my soul helpless and tired. I want to be a good Dad to you so bad but I’m missing out on everything that’s most important to me right now … watching you grow!”

But he persevered. And when skin art entered the mainstream, Pho’s business took off.

Passing

Reena remembers, as a little girl, hanging out in her father’s tattoo studio. She would watch him work in a shop corner, his foot on a pedal powering the tattoo needle and music playing in the background. And she would scramble through his supplies. Then she would sit and draw.

In middle school, kids would come up to her and say things like “Your dad’s Robert Pho!”

“It was so funny. I was, like, ‘They know who my dad is.’”

As a high school freshman she realized she wanted to try her hand at tattooing. At 18, she began a began her apprenticeship.

There was a rough patch with her dad. He came down on her for not paying enough attention to all aspects of the business; she’d ignored social media.

Yes, a 50-something father had to tell his teenager daughter to spend more time online.

“Talent alone now is not enough,” Pho said. “You’ve gotta stay active on social media.”

Reena Pho rededicated herself.

“I almost got fired. I didn’t want to get fired.”

Her dad, she said, is recognized not only for his artistry but for his entrepreneurship and his activism on behalf of tattoo artists. That’s his legacy.

“Now, I’m a part of it,” she said. “That’s very special to me.”

Her late-afternoon client, Rudy Castro, initially hoped for a session with Robert Pho, whom he had followed for a while. But Robert Pho was booked solid.

Castro looked at Reena Pho’s work online and liked her style.

“I just thought it was beautiful work,” said Castro, a corporate executive from Mission Viejo.

He had her tattoo the names of his four children in a half ring across his chest a few weeks ago. He came back for her to touch up a fading Aztecan shoulder tattoo he got when he was 18. And he may add to it.

He didn’t realize at first that Reena was Robert Pho’s daughter.

“I just didn’t make the connection,” Castro said. “I think that’s very cool. That’s very special.”

The funny thing is, Reena Pho does not have a single tattoo. She is not sure yet what her first should be, but she wants it to have special meaning.

She knows who she wants to do it.

That makes her dad smile.

“I look forward to that.”

Spaghetti replaced pho noodles, and they learned to adapt to the intense heat of Arkansas’ summers.

Then, the family learned of Westminster, and its abundant job prospects, yearlong nice weather and the UC education system. So the family moved, settling down off of Westminster Avenue and Bushard Street.

Here, Do and his family also found community with other Vietnamese refugees who had settled in the area.

“To be able to come here and get that flavor of home, it was transformational in the way that you think about what life means to you, what’s important in your life,” Do said.

He was speaking at a press conference to mark the 35th anniversary since then–Gov. George Deukmejian designated the area as Little Saigon in 1988. The freeway signs placed on the busy 405 Freeway “acknowledged the existence of an ethnic community,” Do said, noting it was at a time when “there was a lot of hostility” against the Vietnamese American population.

And now, words like pho and banh mi have become part of the “American psyche” because of that designation, Do said.

To commemorate the occasion, Do said, his team is “working with our county staff and with our lobbyists at all levels, state and federal, to work to get an official U.S. Department of Interior, historic designation of Little Saigon.”

The county will work with the cities of Westminster, Garden Grove and Fountain Valley to get this recognition because it will help the Little Saigon community to “be an entity and go out there and market itself and to be able to raise funds,” Do said.

With the Olympics happening in Los Angeles in 2028, the historical designation, Do said, will “become known on all of the Olympic brochures and promotionals.”

Westminster Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen was also present at the press conference, and Do said he would be working with the city to erect an archway over Bolsa Avenue at the south entrance to Little Saigon.

“I have committed $1 million of my own offices’ budget for the construction of the archway,” Do said. “I will also allocate another $500,000 for the artwork that will go on the archway.”

The gateway arch to Little Saigon, Nguyen said, is “a crucial and needed project to beautify the area.”

And Do also said his team will “prepare plans in the near future to build the Vietnamese Cultural Center” in Miles Square Regional Park.

“I believe that to have a cultural center for our community in a regional, county park is the greatest acknowledgment of our presence, of our contributions,” Do said.

Westminster city staffers previously discussed plans to convert Bolsa Avenue from a six-lane roadway to a four-lane roadway, but those plans are still “very preliminary,” Nguyen said.

Eric Corona, a representative from Caltrans, District 12, said the state’s transportation authority will mark the 35 years since Little Saigon was officially designated by installing 10 new signs along the 22 Freeway in Garden Grove. The signs will be brown in color, indicating the cultural interest area.

While Assemblymember Tri Ta, who represents Little Saigon, was not present, his chief of staff Emanuel Patrascu said Ta introduced legislation to designate a portion of the 405 Freeway from Bolsa Chica Road to Magnolia Street as Little Saigon Freeway.

The 35th anniversary celebrations will continue on Saturday, June 10 with a commemorative event at Asian Garden Mall from 4-7:30 p.m. More information is available on the event website.

Deputies responded to the 10000 block of Fern Avenue around 2 p.m. and two men were located with multiple gunshot wounds, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Sgt. Frank Gonzalez.

One of the men succumbed to his injuries at the hospital, the other victim was admitted into surgery Gonzalez said. Their exact ages were not immediately available. It was not immediately clear whether the victims lived at the Fern Avenue residence or whether they knew one another.

Multiple people were detained Saturday, Gonzalez added.

In an updated statement Sunday, the Sheriff’s Department said that no one had been arrested.

It was not immediately clear whether a weapon was recovered at the scene.

Anyone with information to assist the investigation cab call Sheriff’s Dispatch at 714-647-7000 or anonymous tips can be submitted to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS (1-855-847-6227). Online tips can be submitted via occrimestoppers.org