New Santa Ana

ObamaCare enrollment assistance at the Santa Ana Library throughout February

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Health and Medical, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: Healthcare Insurance Enrollment at the Library

SANTA ANA, CA (February 4, 2014) – The Santa Ana Public Library will be offering one-on-one assistance to help you select the best plan for your medical needs and budget, as well as to help you find out if you qualify for low-cost or no-cost coverage through Medi-Cal.

This service is provided by bilingual (English/Spanish) certified enrollment counselors. Individual meetings are on a first come, first served basis. Counselors will be available on the following dates: Continue reading→

Amor Santa Ana at Calle Cuatro set for Feb. 15-16 at the Plaza Santa Ana

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Latinos, music, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The Santa Ana Business Council is hosting “Amor Santa Ana” at “Calle Cuatro” at the Plaza Santa Ana, at French St. and 4th St., in Downtown Santa Ana, on February 15-16, 2014, from 12 noon to 6 pm each day.

This event will feature live music, mariachis, cumbia bands, ballet folklorico dancers and other fun activities. Continue reading→

Man who murdered his grandma and burned a house with kids in it convicted

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, OCDA Leave a comment

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

For Immediate Release, Case # 09ZF0074: February 4, 2014

MAN CONVICTED OF MURDERING GRANDMOTHER AND SETTING HOUSE ON FIRE WITH TWO YOUNG CHILDREN INSIDE

SANTA ANA – A man was convicted today of murdering his grandmother and setting her house on fire while his 8-year-old brother and 3-year-old niece were inside the home. Joseph Elija Ettima, 30, was found guilty by a jury Feb. 4, 2014, of one felony count of second degree murder, one felony count of arson of an inhabited dwelling, two felony counts of child abuse, and a sentencing enhancement for arson with an accelerant. As the defendant entered pleas of “not guilty” and “not guilty by reason of insanity,” the trial will now move into a second phase, the sanity phase. The sanity phase will begin Monday, Feb. 10, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. in Department C-41, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Ettima faces a sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole if the jury finds he was legally sane at the time of the murder. Continue reading→

City Council to honor Washington Square resident Oldrich Unger tonight

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Santa Ana 2 Comments

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: Mayor and City Council Will Honor a Community Member as an Exceptional Citizen at Tonight’s City Council Meeting

SANTA ANA, CA (February 4, 2014) – The Santa Ana Mayor and City Council will recognize Oldrich Unger at tonight’s city council meeting for his distinguished service and accomplishments within the Santa Ana community.

In 1983, Mr. Unger and his family purchased their first home in the Washington Square neighborhood and soon he became actively involved serving as a block representative, board member and committee member for many neighborhood events. Among his many projects, Mr. Unger hand carved new redwood clock hands for the Historic William H. Spurgeon Clock tower. Mr. Unger has also been the subject of two books published in the last year. Continue reading→

87-year-old man crashes into a medical building in Santa Ana

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Accidents, Santa Ana, Seniors 1 Comment

Santa Ana Police Department Advisory: 87 year-old male drives vehicle into medical building

At 1018 AM, an 87 year-old male drove to the medical building at 999 North Tustin for an appointment. As he was pulling into a handicapped parking stall, he accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake. The vehicle, a 4-door Lexus, went over the parking stop, down a small slope and collided into “Diamond Medical Office”, Suite 13. Continue reading→

The Santora artists’ evictions turn into a Civil War in the Artists Village

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Santa Ana 44 Comments

Sandra Pocha Peña Sarmiento

A civil war has broken out in Santa Ana’s Artists Village and it all started with a comment posted by Sandra “Pocha” Peña Sarmiento (yes she has a lot of names) over at the OC Weekly, under the pen name “Pocharte.” Here is the now infamous comment:

pocharte

This is truly a sad development. Matt’s gallery was a much loved gathering place and his murals were beautiful expressions of our local artists’ vision. Now all this has gone the way of the gorgeous Caio Trattoria murals created by dozens of Artists Village tenants in the ’90’s & painted over by Chapter One when they moved in. All these exquisite moments are lost to us now…like tears in rain. Continue reading→

Can a bunch of L.A. musicians restore the Santora’s reputation?

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, music, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Well it looks like Jack Jakosky, the owner of the Santora building who has made headlines recently for whitewashing a mural and evicting artists, is going to try to salvage his reputation by bringing in a bunch of musicians from Los Angeles.

Here is the press release issued by the Grand Central Art Center regarding this event: Continue reading→

Apologetic Bandit arrested in Lake Forest

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Orange County Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Lt. Jeff Hallock, (714) 904-7042/Gail Krause, (714) 623-8940

Apologetic Bandit arrested

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – (February 3, 2014) – On Friday, January 31, 2014, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Farhad Sharifi, 19, Aliso Viejo, on suspicion of committing numerous robberies over the course of the last 12-14 months. Sharifi was arrested early Friday morning after committing an armed robbery at the 7-11 convenience store located at 24386 Muirlands Blvd., in Lake Forest. Continue reading→

Annual OCTA Measure M public hearing set for Feb. 11

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Entertainment, OCTA, Orange, Transportation Leave a comment

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Feb. 3, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Joel Zlotnik, (714) 560-5713/Eric Carpenter, (714) 560-5697

Annual Measure M Public Hearing Set Feb. 11 for Taxpayers Oversight Committee

Half-cent sales tax is driving force behind local transportation improvements

ORANGE – The Measure M Taxpayers Oversight Committee is conducting its 23rd annual public hearing on Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.

Measure M, administered by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), was approved by voters in 1990 and renewed by a vote of nearly 70 percent in 2006. Each year, the committee seeks public input on how funds are being spent. Continue reading→

City Council gets good news about Santa Ana’s finances as revenues increase

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Santa Ana 5 Comments

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: Mayor and City Council React to Financial Forecast At Upcoming City Council Meeting

SANTA ANA, CA (February 3, 2014) – At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the Mayor and City Council will receive a mid-year update and revised financial forecast for their review and approval. The revised forecast reflects positive changes in our local economy. Major revenues such as sales and property tax are increasing at a higher rate than previously forecasted which will provide the City with additional funds to serve our community. General economic activity is increasing with general retail sales up 3.4%, building permits have increased by 3.8% and unemployment has now dropped to 8.5%. Continue reading→

Vietnamese man sentenced for stabbing a man to death at a Garden Grove party

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Garden Grove, OCDA, Vietnamese, Westminster Leave a comment

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

For Immediate Release, Case # 09WF2495: February 3, 2014

MAN SENTENCED 16 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR STABBING-MURDER OF PARTY-GOER FOLLOWING ARGUMENT

WESTMINSTER – A man was sentenced Friday, Jan. 31, 2014, to 16 years to life in state prison for the stabbing-murder of a party-goer following an argument. Khanh Van Le, 43, Westminster, was found guilty by a jury, Oct. 21, 2013, of one felony count of second degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife.

Co-defendant Thao Thi Nguyen, 44, Anaheim, pleaded guilty, Nov. 22, 2013, to one felony count of accessory after the fact for lying to police about Le’s actions. Thao Nguyen was sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years of formal probation after the Court reduced the felony charge to a misdemeanor over the objection of the People. Continue reading→

Why poverty and crime are so persistent in Santa Ana

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Churches and Religion, Crime, Drugs, Education, Gangs, Politics, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Working Families 13 Comments

You want to know why Santa Ana is such a mess? We reported this week about a young man who dropped out of a good high school, Godinez Fundamental, and was shot dead at the age of 18, at 1 am. While he was not a gang member he was a drug runner, according to my son James who went to school with Jeffrey “Jay Jay” Enriquez, the shooting victim.

Enriquez had seven brothers and sisters. I can’t tell from his Facebook page if he had a dad around. In that he was just like a lot of kids in Santa Ana, which is Orange County’s youngest city – we have more kids under 18 than any other city in our County. Continue reading→

The DTSA artists should have supported Newsong’s attempt to buy the Santora

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Santa Ana 45 Comments

Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. Who knew that the attempt by Irvine’s Newsong Church to buy the historic Downtown Santa Ana Santora Arts Building was something artists should have supported? At the time the artists flipped out. But now the screws are being put to them by Jack Jakosky, the wealthy Newport Beach resident and businessman who ended up buying the Santora. Jakosky has in just a few weeks whitewashed a mural and now he is beginning to evict the artists.

What about Newsong? Well when I saw that their pastor, Dave Gibbons, really wanted to minister in our city I put him in touch with my minister, Andy Quient, at Santa Ana’s historic First Baptist Church, which was headed for bankruptcy. Newsong ended up buying First Baptist and what a relief that has been! They quickly started remodeling, fixing the landscape and they upgraded the sound system. Good times are back at First Baptist! I think however, in retrospect, that they would have done the same thing at the Santora. And they would not have evicted the artists. Continue reading→

Bittersweet Santa Ana Art Walk set for tonight in reeling DTSA

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Tonight’s Santa Ana Art Walk will be a bittersweet one. Downtown Santa Ana (DTSA) is still reeling from the brutal murder of Kim Pham outside of the now-closed down The Crosby. And the Memphis at the Santora has announced that they are closing down as well, to be replaced by a “High End Mexican Restaurant.” The darkest news is that Jack Jakosky, the owner of the Santora building, has begun to evict his artists, after whitewashing the Santora Mural.

Dark times indeed. But if you are venturing out to DTSA tonight, here is a rundown of what is happening: Continue reading→

Celebrate the Lunar New Year at the MainPlace Mall on Sunday, Feb. 2

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Santa Ana, Vietnamese Leave a comment

Westfield MainPlace will ring in the Year of the Horse with its first annual Lunar New Year celebration on Sunday, Feb. 2nd at 1 pm.

Join them for a complimentary event that includes a special Lion Dance that will travel through the mall, to usher in good luck and good fortune to all the shoppers and stores.

Center Court (in front of Nordstrom) will be decked out with colorful décor, and serve as center stage for the festivities. Additional activities include traditional dance performances for the New Year, and photo opportunities with the Lion. Special zodiac panels will also be on hand to discover your sign, and the unique traits that define it. Continue reading→

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ObamaCare enrollment assistance at the Santa Ana Library throughout February

Amor Santa Ana at Calle Cuatro set for Feb. 15-16 at the Plaza Santa Ana

Man who murdered his grandma and burned a house with kids in it convicted

City Council to honor Washington Square resident Oldrich Unger tonight

87-year-old man crashes into a medical building in Santa Ana

The Santora artists’ evictions turn into a Civil War in the Artists Village

Can a bunch of L.A. musicians restore the Santora’s reputation?

Apologetic Bandit arrested in Lake Forest

Annual OCTA Measure M public hearing set for Feb. 11

City Council gets good news about Santa Ana’s finances as revenues increase

Vietnamese man sentenced for stabbing a man to death at a Garden Grove party

Why poverty and crime are so persistent in Santa Ana

The DTSA artists should have supported Newsong’s attempt to buy the Santora

Bittersweet Santa Ana Art Walk set for tonight in reeling DTSA

Celebrate the Lunar New Year at the MainPlace Mall on Sunday, Feb. 2