Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana’s playgrounds, volleyball courts and tennis courts to close
March 31, 2020 - Civic Affairs, Disease, Emergencies, Parks and Recreation, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Sports, Youth Activities - No Comments

The City of Santa Ana is closing its playgrounds, volleyball courts and tennis courts beginning Wednesday, April 1, in order to prevent gatherings and protect the public from COVID-19. The City has already shuttered its enclosed parks, recreation and other facilities and canceled all programs and classes except the take-out senior meals program. Those include:…

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The County of Orange has launched an Economic & Business Recovery Call Center
March 31, 2020 - Business, Disease, Emergencies, Orange County, Santa Ana - No Comments

Effective March 30, Orange County Community Services has implemented a call center to meet the needs of businesses impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Economic & Business Recovery Call Center will offer information and resources to help Orange County businesses navigate the current economic climate. These resources will support businesses with challenges such…

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Santa Ana businesses can get help from a Small Business Incentive Grant
March 31, 2020 - Business, Civic Affairs, Emergencies, Santa Ana - No Comments

The City of Santa Ana is offering a grant of $2,500 to $5,000 for Santa Ana-based microenterprises through the Santa Ana Small Business Incentive Program. Applicants must qualify for the Small Business Incentive Grant. Details are available at www.santa-ana.org/SBIP. Eligibility Qualifications The program provides a reimbursement grant for eligible businesses on a first-come, first-served basis. Grant…

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Understanding Santa Ana’s moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures
March 31, 2020 - Business, Disease, Emergencies, Housing, Real Estate, Santa Ana - No Comments

The City of Santa Ana has created webpages in English, Spanish and Vietnamese to help residential and commercial tenants understand the City and State moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The webpages include frequently asked questions, a sample letter that renters can use to advise their landlord of their inability to pay…

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Thai Viet Phan for the Santa Ana City Council

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New 2016-2017 $514 million Santa Ana City budget approved

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana 1 Comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community: Fiscal Year 2016-17 Budget Approved – See Highlights!

During this week’s Santa Ana City Council Meeting, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17 budget was approved which is set to begin on July 1, 2016. Due to the City’s efforts in fostering both greater transparency and citizen engagement, five Community Budget meetings were conducted during April and May 2016. The resulting $514 million FY 16-17 budget is aligned with the City’s Strategic Plan goals and incorporates community feedback.

Notably, the approved budget includes: Continue reading→

Two Santa Ana auto theft suspects arrested in Irvine

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Irvine Police Department Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PRESS RELEASE #06/06/2016

Subject: Officer Observations Lead to Weekend Stolen Car Arrests

Contact : Farrah Emami, Public Information Officer, 949-724-7112, femami@cityofirvine.org

Irvine, CA – The observations of alert Irvine officers resulted in the arrest of three suspects in two separate stolen car cases over the weekend.

In the first case, two suspects were arrested Friday, June 3, 2016. They are identified as Alfredo Mercado, 43, and Jaime Reynoso, 35, both of Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man arrested in Irvine after a stolen vehicle pursuit

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Irvine Police Department Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PRESS RELEASE #06-08-2016

Subject: Man Arrested Following Vehicle Pursuit

Contact : Farrah Emami, Public Information Officer, 949-724-7112, femami@cityofirvine.org

Irvine, CA – The Irvine Police Department (IPD) has arrested a man following a vehicle pursuit. The suspect is identified as Carl Gonzalez, 33, of Santa Ana. He was arrested on charges including evading a police officer, obstructing/resisting a peace officer, hit and run causing property damage, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia. At the time of his arrest, the suspect was on parole.

At approximately 3:30 a.m. today, June 8, 2016, an Irvine Police officer attempted a vehicle stop in the area of Harvard Avenue and Warner Avenue. The driver of the vehicle failed to yield and the officer initiated a short pursuit. Continue reading→

B of A donates $10K to the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club to help teens graduate

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BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SANTA ANA RECEIVES $10,000 GRANT FROM BANK OF AMERICA TO HELP TEENS GRADUATE AND PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

Grant Funds to Provide One on One Case Management for the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana’s Teen Empowerment Strategy – College Bound Program

Santa Ana, Calif. (June 10, 2016) – Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana received today a $10,000 workforce development grant from Bank of America to support more than 120 teens in the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana’s Teen Empowerment Strategy – College Bound program. This program provides one-on-one case management for teens, ensuring that they progress from grade to grade on schedule and are on a path to graduate high school on time with a plan for their future. College Bound helps provide valuable resources to teens so they are prepared for all that life holds once they graduate.

“Bank of America’s generous donation will give teens unprecedented access to academic support and valuable resources they need to place them on the path to success after graduation,” said Robert Santana, CEO, Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana. “Thanks to community partners like Bank of America, local youth have access to never-before-available opportunities that will help reinforce that college education is attainable.” Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council is ready to fork over thousands of dollars to luxury hotel developers

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Labor, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Did you know that the Santa Ana City Council, like the City Councils in Anaheim and in Garden Grove, has committed to giving thousands of taxpayer dollars to luxury hotel developers as an incentive for them to build four or five star hotels here in Santa Ana

The Santa Ana City Council approved this scheme unanimously this Tuesday night. The proposal offers “high-rated hotel developer 50 percent of the new incremental hotel visitors’ tax the property generates, for up to 15 years.”

Santa Ana currently imposes an 11 percent hotel visitors’ tax on hotel and motel guests, which is projected to yield $9 million by the end of fiscal year 2015-16. Continue reading→

Orange County employee charged with $55K workers’ compensation fraud

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County Efforts Continue to Target Worker’s Compensation Fraud

(Santa Ana, CA) — An ongoing effort by the County of Orange to target suspected instances of worker’s compensation fraud resulted in the arrest this week of a man who claimed to have been disabled after an on-the-job vehicle accident.

While completing community service hours for an earlier DUI conviction, Bartolo Hernandez Orona was a passenger in a County truck in August 2009 when the driver hit a tree. In 2014, he filed a worker’s compensation claim for injuries, claiming to be completely disabled by the accident after having undergone two back surgeries.

He is accused of seeking work between November 2014 and August 2015 as a day laborer and observed moving furniture down a flight of stairs, gardening and riding a bicycle. Continue reading→

Transgender woman shot while walking on Harbor Blvd. early this morning

Posted on by Posted in Crime, LGBT, Santa Ana 1 Comment

A transgender woman was shot early this morning at around 3 a.m. as she was walking at the 1100 block of S. Harbor Blvd., in Santa Ana, according to the O.C. Register.

After the shooting, the victim went to a gas station about a half mile from the scene of the shooting, to report the incident. When the SAPD showed up she eventually became uncooperative but did indicate that the shooter was a man in a gray hat. Continue reading→

Woman charged with setting fires at two Santa Ana stores so she could steal goods

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Erika Rubi Hernandez Valeriano, a 41-year-old transient woman, pleaded not guilty today to two charges of arson, after she allegedly set fires in two stores while she stole shopping carts loaded with goods, according to the O.C. Register.

The first arson/shoplifting crime happened on Oct. 4, 2015 at the Santa Ana Walmart that is located at 3600 W. McFadden Ave. and the second crime happened on May 30 at the El Super Market located at 2445 S. Bristol St., according to the OCFA. Continue reading→

Pimp sentenced after taking nearly $50K from a prostitute in Santa Ana

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 15NF1059/15NF2346

Date: June 9, 2016

MAN SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS IN PRISON FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING, PIMPING, AND PANDERING WOMAN AND ATTEMPTED PIMPING OF ANOTHER WOMAN BY THREATENING THE VICTIMS

*Defendant received nearly $50,000 from trafficking one of the victims

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced today to 14 years in state prison for the human trafficking, pimping, and pandering of a woman, and attempting to pimp another woman by threatening both victims. The defendant received nearly $50,000 from the trafficking of one of the victims. Johnny Lee Guyton Jr., 46, Henderson, Nevada, was found guilty by a jury on May 17, 2016, of one felony count of human trafficking, one felony count of pimping, two felony counts of pandering, and one felony count of attempted pimping. Guyton also received mandatory lifetime sex offender registration as a term of his sentence.

On April 21, 2015, Guyton was charged in case 15NF1059 with two felony counts of human trafficking, two felony counts of pimping, two felony counts of pandering. This case was subsequently consolidated with case 15NF2346. Continue reading→

O.C. Sheriff Hutchens addresses the Jail Special Handling Log fiasco

Posted on by Posted in Crime, OCDA, Orange County, Sandra Hutchens, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Sheriff Hutchens Addresses Jail Special Handling Log

SANTA ANA, Ca. (June 09, 2016) – Today in court there was discussion of the jail informant notes and special handling/classification log. I want to provide the public with some background as to the discovery of the log and the steps that have been put in place to ensure this doesn’t occur in the future.

In February 2016, one day prior to a hearing on the Henry Rodriguez case, we were provided personal notes kept by an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy. This deputy worked in the Special Handling Unit. These notes were not part of our general documentation practice and protocol for record keeping in the jail. The discovery of these notes were shared with the court and the Department of Justice. Continue reading→

The OCDA turns over a recently discovered Sheriff’s jail log to defense attorneys

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 12ZF0137 (Wozniak)/12ZF0128 (Dekraai)

Date: June 9, 2016

OCDA TURNS OVER RECENTLY UNCOVERED OCSD SPECIAL HANDLING LOG TO COURT AND FILES BRIEFS REQUESTING HEARING TO TURN OVER MATERIAL TO DEFENSE AND PROTECT PRIVILEGED DATA

*OCDA sets out concrete action plans to remedy OCSD’s previous nonproduction of documents

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) today turned over to the court a complete copy of the newly obtained Special Handling Log (SH Log) from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), and filed briefs to seal privileged data and request a court hearing to turn over discovery to the defense in the People v. Scott Dekraai. In May 2016, hearings in People v. Daniel Wozniak were held in the Honorable John D. Conley’s courtroom to confirm that the defense is being given all the materials to which they are entitled, and portions of recently-uncovered set of jail records were produced to defendant Wozniak by the OCSD in response to third-party subpoenas served on OCSD by the defense.

During the recent May court hearings in Wozniak, the OCSD custodian of records testified that OCSD management and command staff previously knew nothing of the existence of a set of jail records called the SH Log described in court as a daily activity log of the jail’s special handling deputies. Correspondingly, the OCDA did not know of the existence of this set of jail records. Continue reading→

Dr. Rigo Rodríguez is running for the SAUSD School Board again this November

Posted on by Posted in 2016 Elections, Education, Politics, Rigo Rodriguez, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2016

Contact: Rigo Rodríguez, (949) 478-4162

Dr. Rigo Rodríguez Announces Candidacy for Santa Ana School Board

(Santa Ana, CA) – CSU Long Beach professor and school district parent, Dr. Rigo Rodríguez announced his candidacy today for Santa Ana School Board.

“I want all students to have safe and excellent schools that prepare them for college and a career.” Dr. Rodriguez added, “As the youngest of 13 of a farmworker family, I experienced the economic hardships and social isolation that many families face in Santa Ana. Fortunately, I attended a great public grade school that inspired me and prepared me to stay on the path to success. Although I attended four different high schools in four years in two different countries and three states, I had the motivation and skills to get to college.” Continue reading→

Head of Santa Ana’s OneOC reappointed to the California Volunteers Commission

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Calif. Gov. Brown Reappoints OneOC’s Tim Strauch to California Volunteers Commission

Santa Ana, California, June 8, 2016 – Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. recently reappointed Huntington Beach resident Tim Strauch, vice president and chief operating officer at the nonprofit OneOC, to the California Volunteers Commission, where he has served since 2015.

OneOC partners with over 750 local nonprofits each year, offering volunteer opportunities that address critical community issues.

Strauch provides strategic oversight to the different divisions at OneOC including Volunteer Services, Training, Consulting and Business Services as well as the newly launched Center for Business & Community Partnerships. Continue reading→

Two men charged with pimping a teenage girl and a woman in Costa Mesa

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 16WF1188

Date: June 7, 2016

MAN ARRAIGNED FOR TRAFFICKING AND ATTEMPTING TO PIMP MINOR TEENAGE GIRL AND ALSO CHARGED WITH PIMPING AND PANDERING ANOTHER WOMAN WITH CO-DEFENDANT

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was arraigned today for trafficking and attempting to pimp a minor teenage girl and was also charged for pimping and pandering another woman with his co-defendant. Marice Lavell Curry, 25, Fresno, is charged with one felony count each of human trafficking of a minor, attempted pimping of a minor, pandering with a minor over 16 years old by procuring, pimping, and pandering. If convicted, Curry faces a maximum sentence of 13 years and four months in state prison.

Donald Ray Phelps Jr., 23, Fresno, is charged with one felony count of pimping and one felony count of pandering. If convicted, Phelps faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. They are both being held on $100,000 bail and must prove the money is from a legal and legitimate source before posting bond. They were both arraigned today and are scheduled for pre-trial on June 15, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. in Department W-12, West Justice Center, Westminster. Continue reading→

Repeat offender sentenced to life in prison after trying to rape three women in Westminster

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ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 11WF3019

Date: June 6, 2016

FLORIDA INMATE SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS AND EIGHT MONTHS CONSECUTIVE TO TWO LIFE SENTENCES IN PRISON FOR ASSAULTING, KIDNAPPING, AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTING THREE WOMEN NEAR WESTMINSTER PARK

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Florida inmate was sentenced today to two life sentences to be served consecutively to 10 years and eight months in state prison for assaulting, kidnapping, and sexually assaulting three women near a park in Westminster. Arnold Eduardo Martinez, 35, Blackwater Correctional Facility, Florida, was found guilty by a jury on May 4, 2016, of one felony count of attempted kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, three felony counts of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense, two felony counts of kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury, and one felony count of false personation. Sentencing enhancements for great bodily injury and great bodily injury to a sexual assault victim were found to be true. Continue reading→