Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Monthly Archives: July 2012

Mayor Miguel Pulido should join those asking Bustamante to resign now

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana, Sean Mill 22 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido has been silent thus far on the matter of whether or not Santa Ana Council Member Carlos Bustamante should resign from the City Council, now that he is facing a number of felony sex crime and public theft charges.  My sources tell me though that he is standing by Bustamante.

Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Sean Mill sent an email to Pulido earlier today, asking him to join in the call for Bustamante’s resignation.  You may also email Pulido at this link.  Here’s Mill’s email message to Pulido: Continue reading→

Planning Commissioner Alderete to run for Bustamante’s City Council seat

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Eric Alderete, Jose Solorio, Lou Correa, Michele Martinez, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Sean Mill, Vince Sarmiento 20 Comments

Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Eric Alderete has announced that he will campaign for Ward 3 on the Santa Ana City Council, which is currently held by Council Member Carlos Bustamante, who was arrested last week on a plethora of sex crime and public theft charges.   Ward 3 opens up in November, although Bustamante could still run for reelection.

Alderete has already racked up a number of powerful endorsements including those of: Continue reading→

Bisnar | Chase food donation for the needy in Orange on July 7

Posted on by Posted in Charities, Churches and Religion, Entertainment, Food, homeless, Lawyers, Orange, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Food Giveaway for Orange County’s Hungry on July 7, 2012

Second Harvest Food Bank and Bisnar | Chase to donate food to area’s hungry at the Spanish United Pentecostal Church in Orange, California.

Newport Beach, CA, June 28, 2012 – Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and Bisnar | Chase Personal Injury Attorneys, LLP in Orange County, California are donating food to the area’s hungry on Saturday, July 7, 2012 at the Spanish United Pentecostal Church located at 211 N. Waverly in Orange. The food donation begins at 1:00 PM. Continue reading→

Santa Ana’s business tax amnesty program’s deadline is coming on 7/31

Posted on by Posted in Business, Civic Affairs, Santa Ana, Taxes Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community: TAX AMNESTY PROGRAM DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING FOR NEW AND CURRENT BUSINESS OWNERS

SANTA ANA, CA (July 5, 2012) – The City of Santa Ana is making its final call to new and current business owners to sign up for the Business Tax Amnesty Program. The deadline for participating in this one time only program is Wednesday, July 31, 2012.

Anyone doing business or registered as a business or corporation in the City of Santa Ana must have a business license. Existing licensed businesses that may have underreported or misreported their gross receipts or other assessment criteria qualify if they act fast in order to avoid paying penalties and interest on current and back year taxes. Continue reading→

Legendary U.S. metal band Malice to play at Malone’s on July 14

Posted on by Posted in Bars, Entertainment, music, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Legendary U.S. metal band Malice is going to be playing at Malone’s, in Santa Ana, on July 14, as they promote their brand New Album “New Breed of Godz” Out now on Steamhammer/SPV.  Listen to a new song from Malice entitled “New Breed of Godz” HERE.

Malice signed a worldwide deal with SPV / Steamhammer. Original members Jay Reynolds (guitars), Mick Zane (guitars) and Mark Behn (bass) entered the Silver Cloud Studios in Los Angeles together with new singer James Rivera (Helstar) and new drummer Pete Holmes  (Black N´Blue) to re-record some of their classics plus 4 new songs. The producer is Joe Floyd (Warrior) who also was involved in producing records of Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford. The album is scheduled for a May 2012 release. “We were all amazed at the great crowd responce and turn out for the gigs we played in 2011 , and it feels great to have a well known label like SPV behind us, be in the studio with a veteran line up and have a killer producer…… there will no longer be an abscence of MALICE !!” comments Jay Reynolds. The band can`t wait to go on tour and dates will be announced soon. Bass player Robert Cardenas (Agent Steel) , who also recorded the new tracks in the studio, will step in for Mark Behn on the live front. Continue reading→

O.C. Church of Scientology hosts Latino fashion show in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Churches and Religion, Fashion, Latinos, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OF ORANGE COUNTY WELCOMES THE SANTA ANA COMMUNITY TO FASHION SHOW – SANTA ANA:
For the first time since the Church of Scientology opened its doors on June 2, 2012, this past weekend, it held its first community event – a Fashion Show in honor of The Way to Happiness. 178 people participated in and attended the first event.

The Fashion Show by Carlos Saran Hernandez was accompanied with live entertainment from Bolivian Dance Group Llajtamasis to Tango dance by Brett and Jenny to amazing Tekila Six and to solo singer song-writer Ashley Rose. Continue reading→

Edgar “Osok” Hoill photo exhibit to open at Cafe Calacas on July 7

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Coffee, Entertainment, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Photo Exhibit Opening this Saturday, 7/7 @ Cafe Calacas en el Corazón de Santana.  Photo Exhibit Opening featuring photography by:
Edgar “OSOK” Hoill.

Saturday, July 7th, 2012, from 7 – 10 pm.  Cafe Calacas is located at 324 W 4th St. #A, in Santa Ana (in the West End Theater @ 4th & Birch).  Questions?  Contact rudy@calacasinc.com.

Bustamante’s last hurrah was the Usual Suspects’ 2012 4th of July event

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Courts, Crime, David Benavides, Francisco Barragan, Orange County, Parks and Recreation, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 5 Comments

It turns out that Santa Ana Council Member Carlos Bustamante’s last hurrah was the 2nd Annual Santa Ana Independence Day event at Centennial Park, which was held last Sunday.   He was arrested the very next day, after parking his car in a parking structure at City Hall, on charges of sex crimes and public theft.

One of the things that always bothered me about Bustamante was his overstated patriotism and gung ho attitude towards public safety.  It always felt fake to me.  He once compared himself to movie character Forrest Gump, a pretty dumb guy who made out over time by being in the right place at the right time.  That is the story of Bustamante’s life. Continue reading→

Bustamante almost ended up on the state civil rights commission…

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Courts, Crime, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Twin devils of deception

Everyone in Santa Ana is talking about the arrest of Santa Ana Councilman Carlos Bustamante, on multiple felony counts of various sex crimes, but most folks have forgotten that former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger once appointed Bustamante to the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, back in January of 2008.

When I found out about the appointment I could not believe it.  Even then we knew Bustamante had some issues with women, but when I first wrote about the appointment, over at my old Orange Juice blog, I tackled the issue from a different standpoint – pointing out the fact that Santa Ana was a leader in home foreclosures – and Bustamante had done nothing at all about that. Continue reading→

Where you can buy safe and sane fireworks in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Charities, Churches and Religion, Family, Santa Ana 4 Comments

I asked Santa Ana Public Information Officer Jose Gonzalez if he could get me a list of the 2012 Santa Ana 4th of July fireworks booth locations and he came through!  Click here to download that list – and find out where you can buy safe and sane fireworks in Santa Ana.  The fireworks booths will be open from July 1-4.

Take a look at the list and you can easily identify the non-profit organizations that run each of these booths.  Now you can go buy fireworks from a specific non-profit that you want to support.  The fireworks sales mean a lot to these organizations and often provide a substantial amount of their annual funding.  You will also note that the list is organized by the different fireworks manufacturers, in case you like a specific brand of fireworks.

Here are a few booths I would like to call your attention to: Continue reading→

Supervisor Moorlach addresses Bustamante arrest in email update

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Courts, Crime, John Moorlach, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Subject: MOORLACH UPDATE — Carlos Bustamante — July 3, 2012
Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2012 21:45:01 +0000
From: Moorlach, John

To refresh your memory, you may want to reread MOORLACH UPDATE — Closed Sessions — March 14, 2012, which I am providing below. The reason I refer to this UPDATE is that I was unable to comment publicly on this issue until a thorough investigation had been concluded. The District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas, and his staff completed their investigation and arrested Santa Ana Councilman and former Orange County employee Carlos Bustamante yesterday evening. Continue reading→

State Senator Lou Correa’s 4th of July Message

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Democratic Party, Family, Fullerton, Historical, Lou Correa, Orange County, Parks and Recreation, Patriotism, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Dear Friends,

More than 200 years ago, our nation’s Founding Fathers set out to create a blueprint for our freedom and democracy by writing the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776, they built a foundation for democracy, as immigrants from around the world came to America in search of a better life. Every Fourth of July, we are thankful for the blessings of our great country.

As we join our families and friends for Fourth of July festivities, let’s take some time to appreciate the freedoms we have in the United States. This is also an appropriate time to give thanks to our service members, past and present, for their strength and courage protecting our country every day. Continue reading→

Remarks by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas regarding Bustamante charges

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Courts, Crime, Orange County, Republican Party, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Remarks by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
Charges Against Carlos Bustamante

July 3, 2012

When a person is elected to public office, or accepts a taxpayer-funded high-ranking executive position, that person owes a duty of trust to the public to protect the powers of that position.

One holds such a position not as an owner, but as a steward for a limited time. Holding such a position is a privilege bestowed by the public, and we must do all we can to safeguard the public’s trust. Continue reading→

Councilman Bustamante charged with sexual assaults and theft of public funds

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Courts, Crime, Orange County, Republican Party, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Orange County District Attorney
Press Release, For Immediate Release:  July 3, 2012
Contacts: Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff, Office: 714-347-8408, Cell: 714-292-2718
Farrah Emami, Spokesperson, Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-323-4486

SANTA ANA CITY COUNCILMAN AND FORMER HIGH-RANKING EXECUTIVE FOR COUNTY OF ORANGE CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULTS AND THEFT OF PUBLIC FUNDS

SANTA ANA – A Santa Ana City Councilman who was a former high-ranking executive for the County of Orange until recent allegations related to this case surfaced has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting seven subordinates and committing grand theft of public funds. Continue reading→

SAPD arrests biological mother for the murder of her 2 month old infant

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Santa Ana Police Department Advisory: Detectives arrest biological mother for the murder of her 2 month old infant

Arrested: Lucero Diaz Carrera (Biological Mother), Age:27

On June 29, 2012, at approximately 1620 hours, officers responded to 518 South Sullivan reference a two month-old baby girl that was possibly drowned by her mother, Lucero Diaz Carrero, age 27.  When officers and medics arrived, the baby was unconscious and not breathing. Orange County Fire Medics pronounced her dead at 1633 hours. Initial statements given to officers were the mother threw the baby in the pool. Additionally, the mother had taken a bottle of prescription medication. The mother was displaying symptoms of overdosing so medics transported her to Coastal Community Hospital intensive care unit where she was treated. Family Crimes Detectives responded and conducted a homicide investigation. Continue reading→