Weekly Update 120312

7/30/2019 Weekly Update 120312

1/8

Bomb-Detecting K-9 Teams Begin Patrolling Transit Systems

Orange County officials are relying on mans best friends to keep transit riders safe, especially during

the holiday season.

As part of a joint effort to ensure the safety of the coun tys transportation systems, OCTA and the

Orange County Sheriffs Department introduced two new K-9 teams Th ursday.

Jack, a 3-yea r-old Labrador Retriever mix, and Kori, a 3-year old Hungarian Vizsla, will aid the

Transit Police Services unit in protecting transit passengers. The teams will patrol throughout

Orange County, inspecting transit centers and Metrolink stations as well as responding to suspicious

packages and activity.

They join a Labrador Retriever named Foose that has been sniffing around Orange County's

transportation system for nearly four years.

Dec. 3, 2012

Four-Legged Friends Help Keep Transit Safe

'Breaking Down Barriers' Brings CEO Award

Helping with the Holidays at Santa Ana Zoo

At a Thursday news conference at the Orange train s tation , furr y friends and their human companions partner up

with OCTA to snuff out potential dangers. Participants include: Deputy Mike Wigginton with Jack, Transportation

Security Administration Field Canine Coordinator Chris Kloiber, OCTA Security and Emergency Preparedness

Manager Bruce Gadbois, OCTA Vice Chairman Greg Winterbottom, OCTA CEO Will Kempton and Deputy C orey

Mayer with Kori.

The Adobe Flash Player or an HTML5 supported browser is required for video

playback.

Get the latest Flash Player

Learn more about upgrading to an HTML5 browser
http://www.octa.net/weeklyupdate/weekly_update.aspxhttp://www.octa.net/weeklyupdate/weekly_update.aspxhttp://www.octa.net/


2/8

Jack and Kori are being added to our team just in time for the holiday season, when the threat of

attacks are at an elevated level, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said in a news release. The

canines and their handlers will be highly visible and we encourage the public to aid law enforcement

by repo rting any suspicious beha vior . Remember , i f you see something , s ay something .

Jack and Kori were paired with Deputies Mike Wigginton and Corey Mayer and completed a 10-week

explosives-detection canine program through the Transportation Security Administration at

Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Through this program, the dogs were trained to sit and stay when

they catch the scent of gunpowder or explosives.

Both Wigginton and Mayer are federally certified

bomb te chnicians with more than eight years of

experience on the Orange County Sheriffs

Department bomb squad.

Ensuring the safety of our passengers is a top

priority for OCTA,Vice Chai rman Greg

Winterbotto m sa id. Our bus system is exceptionallysafe and we hope to never encounter an emergency

situation, but in the event we do, it s critical we are

able to respond in the most effective way possible.

The bo mb-detecting teams are funded with the help

of a $600,000 federal grant that covers the first five

years o f the K-9 program a nd will further the

Homeland Security mission in Orange County.

Through their highly visible presence and ability to

sniff out any potential dangers, the two new K-9s will

help head off any threats, said OCTA Transit Police

Chief Tim Finneran.

During the past five years, more than $23 million in

grant funding have gone toward implementing

Homeland Security measures, including:

l Addi ng a Coun ter Terrorism Team to the Transi t Police Se rvices unit

l Installing security cameras on buses and at rail stations

l Increasing patrols, personnel, exercises and training

l Enhancing communications

l Improving emergency plans and assessments

l Implementing physical security measures at transit bases and facilities

Orange County's transportation network got a security boost with two new four-legged members of the

OCTA Transit Police Services Jack and Kori who will help enhance safety with their human

companions.

Visit OCTA's YouTube page for more transportation videos.

Labrador Retriever Jack will lend a helping paw with

Deputy Mike Wigginton in keeping transit systems safe in

Orange County.
http://www.dhs.gov/if-you-see-something-say-something-campaignhttp://www.youtube.com/goocta


3/8
http://www.dhs.gov/if-you-see-something-say-something-campaign


4/8


5/8

Every Day Counts for Transportation Infrastructure

OCTA officials joined approximately 150 federal, state and local leaders at a Sacramento summit

Tuesday to make every day count in delivering transportation infrastructure for California.

Hosted by the Federal Highway Administration, the Every Day Counts summit brought together

transportation professionals from the public and private sector to share practices and seek new

solutions to streamline project delivery.

OCTA CEO Will Kempton and Capital Programs Executive Director Jim Beil participated in the

conference as part of the agencys commitment to the Every Day Counts initiative. The federal

program works to more quickly and efficiently deliver highway projects, enhance safety measures

and apply environmentally friendly practices in transportation.


6/8

Beil believes that bringing together leaders of different agencies from California and across the

nation to facilitate a sharing of information is an important first step in making a tangible difference

in the project delivery process.

It creates an opportunity for the federal and state oversight agencies and the locals who implement

projects to have a dialogue and come to an understanding of ways to be more efficient and

accelerate projects, Beil said. The bottom line is the Every Day Counts initiative is going to help the

residents of Orange County realize projects faster, and in doing so, save time and money. Its faster,

better and cheap er, and what Califo rnia needs to sustain infrastructure in the lo ng-term .

However, as the economy

continues to face the challenges of

recovery, seeking cost-effective

ways o f mo ving people thr oughout

the county while providing quality

service continues to be a priority,

Kempton says.

Although OCTA and fello w

transportation agencies in

California still face funding

obstacles, we continue to explore

way s t o o vercom e barr iers a nd

bring tran spor tati on solutio ns to

Orange County, Kempton said. By

seeking alternative concepts and

applying new technology, we canmore effectively deliver on our

promise of providing

transportation infrastructure for

the community that will enhance

safety and reduce congestion.

Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez headlined the summit and spoke of the streamlining

successes of the Every Day Counts initiative, including alternative contracting methods such as

design-build and construction manager/general contractor methods, alternative technological

concepts such as 3D engineering models and accelerated bridge construction, and provisions of

MAP-21, a bill that creates a streamlined, performance-based, multimodal program to address the

many challenges facing the U.S. transportation system.

O.C. Business Council Honors OCTA

CEO ForBreaking Down Barriers Initiative

The Orange County Business Council

honored OCTAs efforts to turn

transportation red tape into work

opportunities at an awards ceremony

Thursday.

The business organization recognized

OCTA CEO Will Kempton at the Turning

Red Tape Into Red Carpet awards,

honoring him as a leader in local

government whose policies and

programs break down economic growth

barr iers and help stimulate pr ivat e-

sector jobs creation.

Presented with the award for Public

Sector Leadership, Kempton thanked

OCTA board and his staff along with the

local, state and national partners who

worked to create jobs and improve the

economy through transportation in the

Breaking Down Barriers initiative.

Through the initiative led by former

OCTA Directors Peter Buffa and Jerry Amante, OCTA partnered with more than 30 organizations to

brin g together local and nati onal leade rs i n the trans portation i ndus try to iden tify oppo rtun itie s

that created jobs in highway, street and transit construction projects.

Under Kemptons leadership, the Breaking Down Barriers initiative, combined with the O.C. Jobs

Now program, created or sustained more than 12,000 jobs in transportation as of June 30, 2012.

Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez at the groundbreaking of the West

County Connectors construction project in the summer of 2010 t alked about OCTA's

leadership in partnering with Caltrans and federal transportation agencies to

expedite projects to create much-needed jobs.

Dan Miller of the Irvine Company, Paul Kaufman of Chase and Orange

County Business Council Chair Julie Miller-Phipps of Kaiser Permanente

Orange County congratulates OCTA CEO Will Kempton for winning the

prestigious Public Sector Leadership honor for expediting transportation

projects to create thousands of jobs.


7/8

The Breaking Down Barriers initiative became the national template to help expedite project

delivery by removing bureaucratic barriers to enhance transportation infrastructure and create

thousands of jobs in a time when it has been one of the most needed, Kempton said. Through our

partnership with Caltrans and other local agencies, we are continuing to forge ahead in our efforts to

accelerate project delivery and do our part to create jobs in Orange County.

OCTA Helps with the Holidays At Santa Ana Zoo Food and Toy Drive

In addition to lions and tigers and bears, the Santa Ana Zoo on Sunday hosted thousands of people as

OCTA joined State Senator Lou Correa in a canned food and toy drive for children and their families.

OCTAs team helped collect unwrapped toys for the 12th-annual drive that delivers gifts to needy

children through the Toys for Tots program sponsored by U.S. Marines, while volunteers from the

Orange County Employees Association organized the donations of food for the Orange County Food

Bank.

This event was a great opportunity for the community to come together and help families in need,

said Correa, who represents cities in the 34th district including Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton,

Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster.

More than 2,500 people participated in Sundays drive where they were able to give back and help

fellow neighbors while also finding health, safety and transit information to better take care of

themselves and their own families during the holiday season.

OCTAs team provided information about the agencys public transit services that may help ease the

stress of traveling costs during the holidays.

Through the efforts of several nonprofit organizations and public agencies including the California

Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriffs Office and the City of Santa Ana, the food and toy drive has

resulted in more than 1,400 pounds of food donated to families in need.

Nov. 21 The Orange County Register and OC Metro reported the election of 10 new members to the

OCTA Board of Directors.

Nov. 23 The Orange County Register published an article about the aesthetic design of soundwalls

along portions of the South County I-5 Improvement project.

Nov. 26 & Nov. 27 KTLA5, NBC 4, Orange County Register, San Clemente Patch and Los Angeles

Times were among the outlets that reported on the OCTA bus fare increases set to go into effect in

February. The fee increases are required to maintain operations funding from the state.

Nov. 26 & Nov. 28 The Orange County Register, OC Metro, San Juan Capistrano Patch, OC Breeze

and Progressive Railroading penned articles about the OCTA Board selecting Darrell Johnson to

serve as the agencys CEO starting in March.

Nov. 26 & Nov. 27 The Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times and Daily Pilot announced the

OCTA boards decision to eliminate the 19th Street Bridge from the countys Master Plan of Arterial

Highways.

Nov. 26 The Los Alamitos Seal Beach Patch announced detour information for construction

closures on portions of the West County Connectors project.

Nov. 27 The Daily Titan wrote an article about temporary construction closures along portions of

the Orange Freeway (SR-57).

State Senator Lou Correa thanks the 2,500 of people who joined together at Sunday's food and toy drive that

donated more than 1,400 pounds of food to help children and their families during the holiday season.
http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/11/57-freeway-widening-to-close-nutwood/http://losalamitos.patch.com/articles/freeway-closures-tonight-through-saturdayhttp://articles.dailypilot.com/2012-11-26/news/tn-dpt-1128-19th-street-bridge-removal-20121126_1_19th-street-bridge-octa-master-planhttp://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oc-bridge-20121128,0,3358266.storyhttp://www.ocregister.com/news/bridge-378833-beach-traffic.htmlhttp://www.progressiverailroading.com/people/news/Johnson-to-succeed-Kempton-as-Orange-County-Transportation-Authoritys-CEO--33468http://www.oc-breeze.com/2012/11/26/24712_octas-deputy-ceo-tapped-to-step-up/http://sanjuancapistrano.patch.com/articles/johnson-named-next-ceo-of-octahttp://www.ocmetro.com/t-OCTA-names-new-CEO-Darrell-Johnson-11-27-2012.aspxhttp://www.ocregister.com/news/board-378820-johnson-chief.htmlhttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/oc-transit-authority-approves-increase-in-bus-fares.htmlhttp://sanclemente.patch.com/articles/oc-bus-fares-jump-33-percenthttp://www.ocregister.com/news/bus-378819-percent-increase.htmlhttp://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/OC-Bus-Fares-Increase-180925781.htmlhttp://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-octa-bus-fare,0,4231162.storyhttp://epaper.ocregister.com/Olive/ODE/OrangeCountyRegister/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=T3JhbmdlLzIwMTIvMTEvMjM.&pageno=NDQ.&entity=QXIwNDQwNg..&view=ZW50aXR5http://www.ocmetro.com/t-OCTA-adds-board-members-CEO-retires-11-20-2012.aspxhttp://www.ocregister.com/news/council-378410-tustin-city.html


8/8

Nov. 27 Reuters and Boston.com wrote about

the 91 Express Lanes receiving an A rating from

Fitch.

Nov. 28 The Orange County Register published

an article about OCTAs plans to implement

quieter train horns along seven pedestrian rail

crossings in San Clemente.

Nov. 27 and 28 Capital Programs Executive Director Jim Beil and CEO Will Kempton, Every Day

Counts Summit, Sacramento

The Orange County Register writes about OCTA's plans to

implement quieter train horns along seven San Clemente

pedestrian rail crossings.

For the latest media news, followJoel Zlotnik, media relations manager, on Twitter.

For the latest in transportation issues and programs in Southern California,

followOCTA on Twitter.

Become a fan ofOCTA on Facebookto keep connected and learn more about how

OCTA is keeping Orange County moving.

Stay updated on transportation promotions, events and more on OCTA's YouTube

channel.
http://twitter.com/goOCTAhttp://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Orange-CA/OCTA/32401940026http://www.youtube.com/gooctahttp://www.youtube.com/gooctahttp://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Orange-CA/OCTA/32401940026http://www.facebook.com/goOCTAhttp://twitter.com/goOCTAhttp://www.twitter.com/TedNguyenhttp://www.twitter.com/OCTAnewshttp://www.twitter.com/OCTAnewshttp://www.ocregister.com/news/horn-378822-octa-stationary.htmlhttp://finance.boston.com/boston/news/read?GUID=22862387http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/27/idUSWNA008520121127

Documents

Weekly Update 120312