Orange County, California



Orange County is a in ,. Its is. According to the 2000 Census, its population was 2,846,289, making it the second most populous in the state of, and the  in the. The state of California estimates its population as of 2007 to be 3,098,121 people, dropping its rank to third, behind.

Unlike many other large centers of population in the, Orange County uses its county name as its source of identification whereas other places in the country are identified by the large city that is closest to them. This is because there is no defined center to Orange County like there is in other areas which have one distinct large city. Five Orange County cities have populations exceeding 170,000 while no cities in the county have populations surpassing 360,000.

It is also famous as a tourist destination, as the county is home to such attractions as and, as well as sandy beaches for  and , yacht harbors for sailing and pleasure boating, and extensive area devoted to parks and open space for , , , ing, , , and other outdoor recreation. It is at the center of Southern California's, with being the primary business hub.

Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in Orange County; the newest is. Seven of these cities are among the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,455 (948 ), making it the smallest county in Southern California. Surface water accounts for 411 km² (159 sq mi) of the area, 16.73% of the total; 2,045 km² (789 sq mi) of it is land.

Orange County is bordered on the west by the, on the north by , on the northeast by , on the east by , and on the south by.

The northern part of the county lies on the of the, while the southern half lies on the foothills of the. Most of Orange County's population reside in one of two shallow coastal valleys that lie in the basin, the and the. The coastal plain gently rises into the, which lie within the boundaries of the county and of the. The high point is (5,687 ft/1,733 m), about 20 mi (32 km) east of Santa Ana. Santiago Peak and nearby, just 200 ft shorter, form a ridge known as , visible from almost everywhere in the county.

The is the county's principal watercourse. Its major tributary running through the county is. Other watercourses within the county include Aliso Creek, San Juan Creek, and Horsethief Creek. The also briefly crosses into Orange County and exits into the Pacific on the Los Angeles-Orange County line between  and. is home to the county's only natural lakes,, which are formed by water rising up against an underground fault.

Residents often divide the county into "North County" and the cities of the "South County", as opposed to an East-West division characterized by inland and coastal cities. There is no formal geographical division of North and South County, although a rough boundary is considered to exist along State Route 55 (aka the ). The division is perpetuated by the popular television shows "The OC" and "Laguna Beach."

Incorporated cities
As of August 2006, Orange County has 34 incorporated cities. The oldest is Anaheim (1870) and the newest is Aliso Viejo (2001).


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Noteworthy communities
Some of the communities that exist within city limits are listed below:
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,
 * Mesa Verde,

Unincorporated communities
These communities are outside of the city limits in county territory:

Adjacent counties

 * - north, west
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southeast

History
Members of the and / nations long inhabited the area. After the expedition of, a  expedition led by  named the area Vallejo de Santa Ana (Valley of ). On, , became the first permanent European settlement. Among the group of explorers that came with Portolá were and. Both of these men were given land grants and their heirs also inherited portions of family land. The oldest of the Orange County land grants or was  granted in 1810 by. The Yorba heirs Bernardo and Teodosio Yorba inherited ranches in 1834 and 1846 respectively. Their ranches were known as (Santa Ana Canyon Ranch) and Rancho Lomas de Santiago.The Nieto heirs Juan José and Antonio Nieto were granted land in 1834. The Nieto ranches were known as Rancho Los Alamitos, Rancho Las Bolsas, and Rancho Los Coyotes. Other ranches in Orange County were granted by the Mexican government post 1821, year of Mexican Independence, during the Mexican period in.

A severe drought in the devastated the prevailing industry, , and much land came into the possession of ,  and other s. In ,  was discovered in the , attracting settlers via the  and s. This growth led the  to divide  and create  County as a separate political entity on ,. It was named for its most famous product, but other crops, s, and  extraction were also important to the early economy.

Orange County benefited from the, completion of the , a  connecting  with  and. The link made Orange County an accessible weekend retreat for celebrities of early. It was deemed so significant that the city of Pacific City changed its name to in honor of, president of the Pacific Electric and nephew of. Transportation further improved with the completion of the State Route and (now mostly ) in the.

Agriculture, such as the which was made famous by  native, began to decline after  but the county's prosperity soared. The completion of in  helped make Orange County a  for many who moved to  to work in  and manufacturing. Orange County received a further boost in with the opening of.

In, -born Orange County native became the 37th.

In the, the population topped two million for the first time. Orange County had become the second largest county in California.

A spectacular investment fund melt-down in 1994 led to the criminal prosecution of Orange County treasurer. The county lost at least $1.5 billion through high-risk investments in. On December 6,, Orange County declared Chapter 9 bankruptcy, from which it emerged in June ; this was the largest ever municipal bankruptcy in the U.S.

In recent years, the county has been characterized by conflict between the older more historic northern and newer southern cities over development, the building of new s, and a recently defeated proposal to build an international airport at the former that would have reduced operations at the existing.

Demographics


2005 Census bureau estimates place the non-Latino white population of Orange County at around 48%. The 2005 Latino population of Orange County was 32.5%. The Asian population was 15.9%. African Americans constituted 1.9% of the population. Other populations did not change significantly.

As of the of 2000, there were 2,846,289 people, 935,287 households, and 667,794 families residing in the county, making Orange County the second most populous county in. The was 1,392/km² (3,606/sq mi). There were 969,484 housing units at an average density of 474/km² (1,228/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 64.81%, 13.59% , 1.67% , 0.70% , 0.31% , 14.80% from , and 4.12% from two or more races. 30.76% are or  of any race. 58.6% spoke, 25.3% , 4.7% , 1.9% , 1.5% or  and 1.2%  as their first language.

In, still according to the there were 2,410,556 people residing in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 78.60%, 10.34% or , 1.77% , 0.50% , and 8.79% from. 23.43% were or  of any race.

There were 935,287 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.48.

The population is diverse age-wise, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $61,899, and the median income for a family was $75,700. Males had a median income of $45,059 versus $34,026 for females. The for the county was $25,826. About 7.0% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Median household income by community
Unincorporated communities are included if their population is greater than 15,000.
 * $120,852
 * $116,203
 * $96,230
 * $85,624
 * $83,455
 * $79,593
 * $78,475
 * $78,248
 * $76,409
 * $76,408
 * $75,808


 * $70,234
 * $69,734
 * $68,438
 * $67,967
 * $66,830
 * $64,824
 * $64,820
 * $64,337
 * $63,507
 * $63,043
 * $62,803
 * $62,392
 * $58,994
 * $55,985
 * $55,286
 * $50,732
 * $50,336
 * $50,269
 * $49,450
 * $47,754
 * $47,652
 * $47,122
 * $43,412
 * $42,049
 * $39,127
 * $30,493

Education
Orange County is home to many colleges and universities, including:


 * Laguna Hills BOLD Campus
 * Irvine Graduate Campus
 * Laguna Hills BOLD Campus
 * Irvine Graduate Campus
 * Laguna Hills BOLD Campus
 * Irvine Graduate Campus
 * Laguna Hills BOLD Campus
 * Irvine Graduate Campus
 * Laguna Hills BOLD Campus
 * Irvine Graduate Campus
 * Irvine Graduate Campus

Many Orange County residents commute to colleges in neighboring counties, including, and  which are all right next to the L.A.-Orange county borderline.

Its county department of education also oversees 28.

Points of interest
The area's warm and 42 mi of year-round beaches attract millions of tourists annually. is a hot spot for sunbathing and ; nicknamed "Surf City, U.S.A.", it is home to many surfing competitions. "eVocal", on the west side of is the center of Orange County's underground artistic movement. "The Wedge", at the tip of The Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, is one of the most famous body surfing spots in the world. Other tourist destinations include the s and  in  and  in. The is the largest such facility on the West Coast. The old town area in the City of Orange (the traffic circle at the middle of Chapman Ave. at Glassell) still maintains its 1950s image, and appeared in the That Thing You Do! movie. is another notable tourist destination, being home to the largest concentration of outside of Vietnam. There are also sizable Taiwanese, Chinese, and Korean communities, particularly in western Orange County. This is evident in several Asian-influenced shopping centers in Asian American hubs like the city of Irvine.

Other notable structures include the in, the largest building in the county; the  in , the largest house of worship in California; the historic   in Newport Beach; the Huntington Beach Pier; and the restored.

Some of the most exclusive (and expensive) neighborhoods in the U.S. are located here, many along the, and some in north Orange County. Large shopping malls exist throughout the county, such as the, in ,  in ,  at ,  in , and the recently remodeled Shops at Mission Viejo in.

Historical points of interest include (destination of migrating swallows), and the  in. The Nixon Home is a, as is the home of a very different character, Madam , in on.

Since the premiere in fall 2003 of the hit series , tourism has increased with travelers from across the globe hoping to see the sights seen in the show.

Sports
annually plays host to the, and.

Sports teams
The team in Orange County is the. The Angels won the in  when they were known as the. The change to the new name in 2005, which by the City of Anaheim against Angels owner, has been widely unpopular in Orange County.

The county's team, the, won the   beating the. They also came close to winning the  finals after winning three games in a seven-game series against the.

The is a  soccer club. They play at. Among those who have played for OCBS are, the former German star and Germany's 2006 World Cup coach, who played under an assumed name.

The are an  expansion team for the 2006-2007 season. They play their home games at the.

The are an  (ABA) expansion team starting in November of 2007. They will play their home games at Fieldhouse Gym at JSerra in San Juan Capistrano.

Orange County Roller Girls - an All Female Flat Track Roller Derby League formed in 2006 and actively plays (bouts) at various locations in Orange County. Many of the leagues bouts are played against teams from other cities throughout the United States.

Orange County has two amateur teams. The men's team is the Orange County Bombers. The women's team is the Orange County Bombshells.

Former and defunct Orange County sports teams
The football left the county when the  relocated to  in 1995. city leaders are in talks with the NFL to bring a Los Angeles-area franchise to Orange County, though they are competing with other cities in and around Los Angeles.

The played in the  from 1978 to 1981. The club called home.

The played at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium in 1993-94 in the  (APSL), at the time the top soccer league in the U.S. The Salsa, whose general manager was former Cosmos star  and its coach former Brazil star, also played some games at  in , attempting a season in Mexico's second-tier Primera A Division. That attempt was cancelled after several games when and  ruled a club could not play in two leagues in separate countries. The Salsa lost to the in the 1993 APSL final at Cal State Fullerton.

The, affiliated with MLS's , played soccer at (also known as Santa Ana Bowl) and  from 1997 to 2000.

The county was the home of the basketball team of the  (ABA). In May 2006, the NBA Development League's -affiliated team announced their move to.

The was a member of the. They folded in 2005 due to low attendance.

The were a  team in 1996-97, but folded due to team board financial problems.

The were a  team that lasted from 1993-99 and were briefly revived in 2001.

The was a soccer team that played in the  from 1993 to 1997.

The played some home games at The Arrowhead Pond, now known as the, for a few years, before moving to , which they share with their rival.

The was an  team based out of Anaheim that played in the  in  and. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was.

Government
Orange County is a chartered county of California; its is. Its legislative and executive authority is vested in a five-member Board of Supervisors. Each Supervisor is popularly elected from a regional district, and together the board oversees the activities of the county's agencies and departments and sets policy on development, public improvements, and county services. At the beginning of each year the Supervisors select a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, but the administration is headed by a professional municipal manager, the County Executive. The current supervisors are, , , , and.

Seven other public officials are elected at-large: the County Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Clerk-Recorder, District Attorney, Sheriff-Coroner, Treasurer-Tax Collector and Public Administrator. Since 1999, the has been led by.

Politics
Orange County has long been known as a stronghold and has consistently sent Republican representatives to the state and federal legislatures. Republican majorities in Orange County helped deliver California's to Republican presidential candidates  (,  and ), ,  ( and ) and. Orange County has not voted for a presidential candidate since 's United States presidential election, 1936|1936]] landslide re-election for a second term. Although Democrats have made inroads in the northern end of the county since the mid-1980s, Orange County politics are still dominated by Republicans. Five of the county's six, four of its five and seven of its nine  are Republicans, as are all five members of the County Board of Supervisors. Only four Democrats have carried the county in a statewide race in the last 50 years; in his successful campaign for Governor in 1978,  for Secretary of State and  for State Controller, both also in 1978 and  for Controller in 1998.

In Congress, representatives whose districts are completely or partially in the county include Republicans,  ,  ,  , and  , and Democrat. In the State Senate, Senators whose districts are completely or partially in the county include Republicans (SD-29),  (SD-33),  (SD-35),  and  (SD-38), and Democrat  (SD-34). In the State Assembly, Assemblymembers whose districts are completely or partially in the county include Republicans (AD-60),  (AD-67),  (AD-68),  (AD-70),  (AD-71),  (AD-72), and  (AD-73), and Democrats  (AD-56) and  (AD-69).

According to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, as of, , Orange County had 1,501,843 registered voters. Of these registered voters, 47.78% (717,546) are registered Republicans, and 30.08% (451,706) are registered Democrats, giving the Republicans a registration advantage of 17.7% (265,840) – or over a quarter of a million voters. An additional 18.19% (273,215) declined to state a political party, and the remaining 3.95% (59,376) are registered with minor political parties.

Orange County has produced such notable Republicans as President (born in  and lived in ), U.S. Senator  (previously  of ), and U.S. Senator  (of ). Former Congressman (of ), a White House counsel for President, is currently chairman of the. Orange County was also home to former Republican Congressman, a presidential candidate in 1972 from the ultra-conservative and the father of. In 1996, (currently mayor of ) became the first Republican-elected Speaker of the  in decades.

While the growth of the county's and  populations in recent decades has significantly influenced the culture of Orange County, its conservative reputation has remained largely intact. Partisan voter registration patterns of Hispanics, Asians and other ethnic minorities in the county have tended to reflect the surrounding demographics, with resultant Republican majorities in all but the central portion of the county. When Democrat defeated veteran Republican  in the congressional contest of, she was continuing a trend of Democratic representation of that district that had been interrupted by Dornan's  upset of former Congressman. Until 1992, Sanchez herself was a Republican, and she is viewed as having moderate or even conservative positions on many issues.

Republicans have responded to the influx of ethnic immigrants by making more explicit efforts to court the Hispanic and Asian vote. In 2004, captured 60% of the county's vote, up from 56% in 2000, despite a higher Democratic popular vote compared with the 2000 election. Although won statewide, and fared better in Orange County than she did in 1998, Republican  defeated her in the county, 51% to 43%. And while the 39% that received is higher than the percentage  won in both 1992 and 1996, the percentage of the vote George W. Bush received in 2004 (60% of the vote) is the highest any presidential candidate has received since 1988, showing a still-dominant GOP presence in the county. In 2006, Senator won 45% of the vote in the county, the highest margin of a Democrat in a Senate race in over four decades. Democratic strength is concentrated in the communities of, , and.

The county features prominently in the book Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right by Lisa McGirr. She argues that the county's conservative political orientation in the owed much to its settlement by ern transplants, who reacted strongly to communist sympathies, the, and the turmoil of the  in nearby Los Angeles — across the "."

In the 1970s and 1980s, Orange County was one of California's leading Republican voting blocs and a sub-culture of residents to hold "Middle American" values that emphasized a capitalist religious morality in contrast to West coast progressive liberalism that well existed there.

Orange County has a high portion of voters from culturally conservative,  and  immigrants, many came as  from wars and dictatorships, are strongly loyal to policies of the Republican party to defeat communism and ic terrorism. High numbers of in  and  are also Republican loyalists for the party's anti-communist policies. Vietnamese Americans registered Republicans outnumber Democrats at a rate of 55% to 22%. Republican Assemblyman was elected to become the first Vietnamese-American to serve in a state legislature and is tied with Texan  as the highest-ranking elected Vietnamese-American in the United States. In the 2007 Special Election for the vacant county supervisor seat following Democrat 's election to the state senate, two Vietnamese-American Republican candidates topped the list of 10 candidates, separated from each other by only 7 votes, making the Board of Supervisors all-Republican.

Major highways
Surface transportation in Orange County relies heavily on several major interstate highways: the (I-5), the  ( and  south of Irvine), and the , which only briefly enters Orange County territory in the northwest. The other freeways in the county are state highways, and include the perpetually congested and   and the   running east-west, and the , the  , the Laguna Freeway , the  , the  , and the   running north-south. Minor stub freeways include the Richard M. Nixon Freeway (CA/SR-90), also known as Imperial Highway, and the southern terminus of Pacific Coast Highway (CA/SR-1).


 * [[Image:I-5.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:I-405.svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:I-605.svg|23px]]
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 * [[Image:California 22.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 39.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 55.svg|20px]]
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 * [[Image:California 73.svg|20px]]
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Public transit
Transit in Orange County is offered primarily by the. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) cited OCTA as the best large property transportation system in the United States for 2005. OCTA manages the county's bus network and funds the construction and maintenance of local streets, highways, and ; regulates taxicab services; maintains express toll lanes through the median of the (SR/CA-91); and works with Southern California's  to provide  service along three lines - the, the , and the.

The bus network comprises 6,542 stops on 77 lines, running along most major streets, and accounts for 210,000 boardings a day. The fleet of 817 buses is gradually being replaced by -powered vehicles, which already represent over 40% of the total.

Starting in 1992, has operated three commuter rail lines through Orange County, and has also maintained Rail-to-Rail service with parallel  service. On a typical weekday, 40 trains run along the, the and the. Along with riders on parallel  lines, these lines generate over 12,000 boardings per weekday. also began offering weekend service on the Orange County Line and the Inland Empire-Orange County line in the summer of 2006. As ridership has steadily increased in the region, new stations have opened at Canyon,, and , and a new station in  is slated to open in. Stations at and  are proposed for future construction.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will be making its debut in 2008.

A car and passenger ferry service, the, comprising three ferries running every five minutes, operates between Balboa Peninsula and in.

Orange County's only major airport is the (SNA). It is located in unincorporated territory surrounded by the cities of Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, and Irvine. Its modern Thomas F. Riley Terminal handles over 8 million passengers annually through 14 different airlines.

Film and television
Orange County has been the setting for numerous films and television shows:
 * It is best-known as the setting of the eponymous  television   which is set in the Orange County coastal harbor town of  (although the series is actually filmed in  to keep production costs down). It is a very loose and locally criticized interpretation of the county and its residents.
 * It is the subject and setting of the eponymous movie . However, the film was not actually filmed in Orange County.
 * It is also the setting of the  . Most of the series was not filmed in Orange County, but in  and  in .  A running joke in the series that pokes fun at The O.C. is that characters will frequently refer to Orange County as "The O.C.," followed by another character's saying "don't call it that," (mirroring the fact that few actual Orange County residents use the acronym "O.C.").
 * The closing scene in with  and  was shot at the  Regional Transportation Center.
 * The film  was shot and set in the cities of Cypress and Anaheim.
 * The film  was set in, although it was filmed in.
 * The film  was shot and set in
 * 's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County was filmed in the Orange County coastal town of.
 * A key scene in the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan was shot and set at in the city of.
 * The Christian Slater film  was filmed in Anaheim and Irvine, at Woodbridge high school.
 * A plot line in the drama  involved a dead liberal  unexpectedly winning a  from an Orange County district.
 * Orange County is the home of the late Republican President on the (now canceled) ABC drama .
 * from the ABC drama  was bound to go to Irvine, where his longtime friend Nadia lives., another castaway from the series, is said to work in.
 * Orange County was the location of the  movie .
 * The Park Place, Irvine corporate mall was the location for futuristic scenes in the film  starring  and.
 * The 2006 film  was set in the city of . A freeway scene was shot along the Northbound  in.
 * The show which is filmed in.
 * Costa Mesa is the setting for the  episode "Hungry".
 * In the film , the scene when the Johnny Tran and his gang catch up with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker blowing up their car was filmed in Garden Grove.

Orange County has also been used as a shooting location for several films and television programs. Examples of movies at least partially shot in Orange County are 's ', the ' ', and the movie . All three of which were filmed in or around the Old Towne Plaza in the City of Orange.

Music
In 2006,, an Orange County native, released a song called "Orange County Girl" for her album .

Literature
A number of novels by best-selling fiction and horror author, a resident of Newport Beach, are set in the area.

Several of the stories in -winning author 's collection,, are set in Orange County. Chabon studied at.

Orange County is the place in which 's  is set. These books depict three different futures of the Orange County (survivors of a nuclear war in The Wild Shore, a developer's dream gone mad in The Gold Coast, and an ecotopian utopia in Pacific Edge). 's  was also set in Orange County.

From his first novel, "Laguna Heat," to more recent books such as "California Girl," mystery-writer T. Jefferson Parker has set many of his novels in Orange County.

The modern fantasy novel "All the Bells on Earth" by is set in.

Religion
Orange County is also the base for several significant religious organizations: It should be noted that among the Christian population, the majority of the population with ancestry follows the various  denominations while the ethnic, , and other populations follow. There are about 1.04 million Catholics in Orange County. Also, there are about 35 synagogues to serve the sizeable Jewish community in the county.
 * Association of Islamic Charitable Project
 * The headed by Bishop Tod Brown.
 * , father of the, is headquartered at in.
 * Reverend 's is in.
 * began as Channel 40 in, now in.
 *  author and his  (the largest church in California) are in.
 * The movement began in Orange County.
 * The Newport Beach serves the 50,000  in the county.
 * The Merage Jewish Community Center headquartered in.
 * Grace Lutheran Church in Huntington Beach is leading a Lutheran renewal movement.
 * The of Orange County.
 * , AKA "The Family" ,was founded in in  by.
 * The Center of Anaheim
 * The Islamic Educational School (TIES)
 * The Islamic Educational Center of Orange County is based in Costa Mesa.
 * The mosque at the of Orange County in Garden Grove serves one of the largest  communities in the nation.
 * The is one of the newest and largest Islamic Centers in the nation.
 * The Baha'i Center of San Clemente was built by members of the faith.
 * in Irvine is one of the largest monasteries and temples in the United States.
 * The Conservative Lutheran Association is located at Trinity Lutheran Church in Anaheim, headed by Pastor Jim Elmore.
 * The Goddess Temple of Orange County is one of the few Goddess organizations in the U.S. holding regular weekly services.

Master planned communities
Orange County has a history of large master planned communities. Nearly 30% of the county was created as master planned communities, the most notable being the, , , , , , and. has become the model master planned city, encompassing many villages which were all planned under a master plan by the in the mid-1960s. Many communities within California and throughout the country (and even outside the country including ) have used these Orange County developments as models for their own planning. Elements such as community clubhouses, numerous community pools, pocket parks, horse trails, and active associations were first established in Orange County master planned communities and have been copied in numerous places throughout the.

Notable residents
Due to Orange County's proximity to, the entertainment capital of the United States, many film and media celebrities have moved or bought second homes in the county. Actor, who lived in , is the namesake for Orange County's. Orange County has also produced many homegrown celebrities, including golfer, basketball player , a number of professional ballplayers, including retired slugger , actor , comedian/actors and , actresses  and , and singers , , , , and.

The county's most famous resident was perhaps, the 37th , who was born in and lived in  for several years following his. His is in Yorba Linda.

Government

 * County of Orange - Official County Government Web Site
 * Orange County Transportation Authority
 * Orange County Regional Parks and Beaches Authority
 * Orange County Water District
 * Orange County Business Council

Media

 * The Orange County Register - OC's chief Newspaper
 * OC Weekly - Orange County's Alternative Newsweekly
 * Orange County Business Journal - Weekly newspaper covering business in OC.
 * KOCE Orange County Public Television (PBS)- Five night per week Orange County news program "Real Orange."
 * SqueezeOC Web site devoted to things to do in Orange County.
 * OC Post Tabloid newspaper from the publishers of the Orange County Register.
 * OCLegend.Com Orange County's Original News Fabricator
 * OCThen.com Published memories from Orange County residents
 * OCVarsity.com Everything you need to know about Orange County High School sports.

Others

 * About Orange County - Orange County Guide, Real Estate, Shopping Fashion, Store,Restaurants.
 * OCStandard - Orange County City Guide.
 * Orange County Business Council (Chamber of Commerce)
 * Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau
 * Orange County Jail Information: Transcripts from interviews with ex-inmates yield insight into life in the Orange County Jail.
 * Orange County ArtSource - Links to Major Visual and Performing Arts Venues.
 * Unofficial Orange County History Page - From the 1400s to the present.
 * Historical Orange County Page - emphasis on American Indians and Missionaries.
 * Disney GOALSNot for Profit Organization Assisting Low Income Youth (4 OC Cities Served:Anaheim,Placentia,Garden Grove and Fullerton)
 * Vivre en Orange County Californie - Group of French speakers