OC Weekly

OC Weekly, a sister publication of both LA Weekly and The Village Voice, is a popular, free weekly paper (an alternative weekly) distributed in Orange County, California and also in Long Beach.

The paper targets corrupt California politicians of both major political parties and has been instrumental in several being arrested and sent to prison. "OC Weekly" routinely criticizes personalities such as former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, and maintains an active, award-winning news blog called Navel Gazing.

Among the most popular columns include "¡Ask a Mexican!" by Gustavo Arellano, which is now in syndication; its food section; and the award-winning investigative work of R. Scott Moxley, Nick Schou and Matt Coker. The Weekly's articles have resulted in FBI arrests, has led to the felony indictments of two consecutive Huntington Beach mayors, helped free innocent men and a woman from prison. and exposed the relationship between the local sheriff and an organized crime associate. In early 2009, that sheriff was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison. Other noteworthy coverage has included the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal, and Orange County's controversial toll road, a multi-billion dollar subsidy to the richest man in OC: Donald Bren. Its articles get cited frequently by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report. In 2009, a ranking California Republican state assemblyman and vice chairman of a powerful utilities committee resigned within hours of the Weekly disclosing his sexual relationship with a lobbyist for Sempra Energy, a giant California utility.

The paper can be picked up in many coffee shops, bookstores, clothing stores, convenience stores, boxes on the street, etc. OC Weekly takes pride in its art and entertainment listings for both Orange and Los Angeles counties, rivaling the larger Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times.