New Santa Ana

Afro-Mexican photo exhibit at Calacas the highlight of the Santa Ana “Art Walk”

Posted on September 6, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Afro Mexican Photo at Calacas Exhibit

The highlight of Saturday night’s “Art Walk” didn’t even take place within the Artist Village. Hands down the highlight of the evening was Sal Rojas’ Afro-Mexican photography exhibit held at wonderful little store, Calacas, located at 324 W. 4th Street #B in downtown Santa Ana.

The exhibit, which was presented by BrownPride.com, was called “The Third Root | La Tercera Raiz” and “captures the life of Afro-Mexicans and their communities”. Rojas did a magnificent job with the photos that bring to life the Afro-Mexican culture.

Afro-Mexicans make up more than 5% of Mexico’s population; yet remain invisible to the majority of Mexicans. Continue reading→

Rocky Horror Picture Show playing at Santa Ana’s Yost Theater tonight!

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Santa Ana 2 Comments

rocky-horror-oc-2-350

Let’s do the time warp again – in Santa Ana!

The original Rocky Horror Picture Show movie is playing TONIGHT at Santa Ana’s Yost Theater, at 12 midnight.

The Yost Theater is located at 307 Spurgeon St., in downtown Santa Ana. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is presented every first Saturday of the month, at 12 midnight. Continue reading→

O.C. Labor Federation celebrates Labor Day at the Santa Ana Zoo

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Labor, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Orange County Labor Federaqtion at the Santa Ana Zoo

Local politicians lined up to greet those at today’s Labor Day celebration at the Santa Ana Zoo

My son Jacob and I visited the Orange County Labor Federation’s special Labor Day celebration at the Santa Ana Zoo today.

They had a great turnout – and a lot of fun for the families in attendance. There was a jumper and a sport-themed inflatable attraction; cotton candy, snow cones (raspados!), hot dogs, soda and chips, and plenty of games.

And, as one might expect, a whole bunch of local elected officials and political candidates showed up to greet the attendees. Continue reading→

Santa Ana’s Buccaneer Pizza as good as promised

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Restaurants, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Buccaneer pizza

I read about Santa Ana’s new Buccaneer Pizza this week over at the OC Weekly and decided to try them out on Friday night.

I found a postcard they sent us but the coupon was expired. So I called them and asked if they would still accept the expired coupon. Of course they did!

The Buccaneer special was $19.95 for a large pizza with one topping, a Caesar salad, a free order of chicken wings and a 2 liter soda. We added an order of their garlic cheese bread sticks. We also paid for an extra topping on the pizza.

We ordered a pepperoni with black olive pizza. The crust was as good as promised, as was the sauce. But the olives floated on top and fell off. Better to bury them in the cheese I think. The pizza was however fantastic. And it was big and fluffy with generous toppings. Continue reading→

Watch the Space Station and Shuttle Discovery fly over Santa Ana!

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Education, Youth Activities Leave a comment

International Satellite Station

SATELLITE SIGHTING INFORMATION
For Santa Ana (all of Orange County)

Click here to get information about Santa Ana!

Sun Sept. 06 at 8:29 PM
For 4 minutes at 55 degrees max,
Starting from 10 above WSW to 27 above NNE

Tue Sept. 08 at 7:43pm
For 5 minutes at 50 degrees max,
Starting from 10 above WSW to 11 above NE Continue reading→

Sean Mill resigns from the Santa Ana Planning Commission

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Santa Ana Leave a comment

Sean Mill

Sean Mill has resigned from the Planning Commission, effective today. Mill says he is going to focus his energies on building the New Santa Ana blog and on helping Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido to launch the new “Bank on Santa Ana” program, which will help the under-served residents in town to open bank accounts. Many of these residents have never had a bank account available to them.

Mill said “I am going to dedicate my time and energy to help get the New Santa Ana blog up and running and to help promote the City of Santa Ana in a positive fashion.” Continue reading→

SAPD To Receive Secretary of Defense Freedom Award for 2009

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

BadgePatch

Myself and all of us at the New Santa Ana blog would like to pass along a hearty congratulations to Chief Paul Walters and the Santa Ana Police Department on being named one of the winners of the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award for the year 2009.

As you may remember in a post written by me on June 25th I announced that the department had been named a finalist for the prestigious award. Chief Walters received the good news from the folks in Washington D.C. yesterday letting him know that he and the department had won.

As I stated in my June 25th post, the award is the U.S. Government’s highest recognition given to employers who go above and beyond the call of duty when supporting employees and their families while the employee is serving in the military.

Chief Walters let the terrific men and women of his department know of this tremendous honor via email yesterday. I too received a copy of the Chief’s email and would like to share it with all of you: Continue reading→

Who are your favorite Santa Ana City Council Members of all time?

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Santa Ana 2 Comments

John Acosta

My favorite Santa Ana Council Member of all time is John Acosta

When I first came to Santa Ana, I recall that the City Council included Lisa Mills, Tom Lutz, Pat McGuigan, Rob Richardson, Ted Moreno and of course Miguel Pulido. Over the years I have seen others come and go, including Brett Franklin, Lisa Bist, Mike Garcia and Alberta Christy.

In recent years we have seen newcomers arise, including David Benavides, Vince Sarmiento, Michele Martinez, Carlos Bustamante, Sal Tinajero and Claudia Alvarez.

My favorite Council Members would include Franklin, McGuigan, Garcia, Moreno and Martinez. Christy was also one of the nicest Council Members of all time. I don’t really know much about the Council Members who predated this crowd, although my absolute favorite of all time would have to be John Acosta.

Who have been YOUR favorite Council Members over the years? And why? Continue reading→

Things to do & places to go in Santa Ana, Part Two

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Santa Ana 2 Comments

The Heritage Museum of Orange County

Here are a few more fun places to go and things to do here in Santa Ana:

The Heritage Museum of Orange County
3101 West Harvard Street, Santa Ana, CA 92704, (714) 540-0404

Friday: 1:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m, Sunday: 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.*
Other times are available by appointment only for groups of 10 or more.

Prices:
Adults: $5, Seniors/Children: $4
Free parking!
Free use of grounds during public hours, AAA/Access Member Discounts

Special for Santa Ana Residents Only: Free Admission & Tour on first Sunday of every month. Continue reading→

Afro-Mexican photo exhibit coming to Santa Ana on Saturday, Sep. 5

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Santa Ana, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Sal Rojas the Third Root

BrownPride.com Presents “The Third Root | La Tercera Raiz”
A Photographic Exhibition That Captures the Life of Afro-Mexicans and their Communities by Salvador Rojas

CALACAS 324 W. 4th Street No. B Santa Ana, Ca 92701
Opening Reception: Saturday September 5, 2009 6 pm-11 pm

Photographer Sal Rojas will take you on a visual journey exploring the Roots, Culture & Life of the Afro-Mexicans. Afro-Mexicans make up more than 5% of Mexico’s population; yet remain invisible to the majority of Mexicans.

The Third Root is a visual experience like no other, as it unveils the unseen community of the Costa Chica area of Oaxaca and southern Guerrero, Mexico. Look into the eyes of those who have been suppressed from Mexico’s mainstream culture, as the photographs tell their story. This photographic exhibition hits Calacas located in the heart of Santa Ana, California September 5, 2009. Continue reading→

Alfredo Amezcua pulls together a coalition to help guide Santa Ana redevelopment

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Redevelopment, Santa Ana 6 Comments

CIMG0095

Alfredo Amezcua pulled together an amazing coalition at tonight’s community meeting

I attended a community meeting tonight at the Santa Ana Public Law Center. The meeting was moderated by Alfredo Amezcua, a local attorney and former college education board member, who also prepared the agenda. The organization he heads up is called the “Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development.”

The main focus of this organization is the pending Station District development, which involved properties acquired by the City of Santa Ana over by the Train Station. How those properties get developed is this group’s main concern.

We heard tonight from Eric Altman of OCCORD and his colleague Becky Dennison. They told us about what they did with the Grand Ave. Project in Los Angeles. They met with the developer regularly and were able to work on what is called a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). Continue reading→

Things to do and places to go in Santa Ana

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Santa Ana, Uncategorized, Youth Activities 1 Comment

Bowers Museum

If you live in Santa Ana, you can visit the Bowers Museum for FREE this Sunday!

Bored? You don’t have to leave Santa Ana to have a good time! Here is a list of places you can go to, sometimes for FREE, right here in Santa Ana:

Bowers Museum
2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706
Tuesday-Sunday: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Kidseum
1802 North Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706
Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, Saturday-Sunday: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm Continue reading→

Check Out Lola Gaspar

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Restaurants, Santa Ana 6 Comments

lola gaspar

After our last Planning Commission meeting myself and a couple of my fellow commissioners wanted to grab a bite to eat. Selecting a restaurant is always a task considering our different tastes and diets. Commissioner Jim Gartner is a voracious carnivore who loves a nice steak, while I myself am a vegetarian…stop laughing…no really I am, so Commissioner Eric Alderete suggested we try Lola Gaspar in the Artist Village, he said they have something for all of us.

Eric was right on about the place. Lola Gaspar has a diverse menu that caters to everyone’s taste and desires and a full service bar if you want to enjoy a cocktail or two. I had the potato and mushroom tacos with the habanero sauce and they were absolutely delicious. Everyone’s food looked absolutely incredible and we all left quite satified with our dining experience there.

Monday thru Friday they have “Siesta Hour” $3 drinks and Sunday thru Thursday they have late night taco specials after 10PM. The atmosphere is more geared for adults than families with children and you can enjoy your dining experience at the bar, inside at one of the indoor tables our enjoy the ambiance in their outdoor seating area. You can even get your food to go if you are in a hurry. Continue reading→

Should we allow more garage sales in Santa Ana?

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Santa Ana 13 Comments

Santa Ana garage sale

One of my readers suggested recently that we need to take a second look at the City of Santa Ana’s garage sale policy. As he pointed out, we went from 52 possible garage sale weekends to only 4, when the ordinance was changed awhile back.

I think he has a point. He also had this to say, “Especially in light of the economy, with foreclosures and job losses our 4 garage sale policy is OUT-OF-TOUCH with reality. Garage sales are a good source for people who are struggling to buy clothes, toys, appliances etc. It’s also an extra hardship on those who have to move, if they miss the “approved week-end” they are forced to give their stuff away.”

We have a garage sale weekend coming up this weekend in fact, on September 5 and 6. But who would schedule this on a holiday weekend? That too seems misguided.

You can read the City’s official garage sale policy at this link. Continue reading→

What would you do to improve Santa Ana if you were the Mayor?

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Art Pedroza Posted in Santa Ana 8 Comments

King for a day

What would you do to improve Santa Ana if you were the Mayor?

I had lunch today with a couple of friends over at Las Brisas in downtown Santa Ana. One of them asked me what I would do if I was Mayor of Santa Ana. That’s a darn good question! What would YOU do to improve our city if YOU were the Mayor of Santa Ana?

Regardless of what you may think of our current Mayor, Miguel Pulido, it is obvious that our city has some major issues to contend with. Where would you start?

I invite you to post a comment here with your top three action items. Here are mine: Continue reading→

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