The Discovery Science Center has a fun New Year’s Eve event set for today, December 31, 2012, for your kids!
5, 4, 3, 2, 1! The countdown has begun to Noon Year’s Eve on December 31. Why stay up till midnight? Noon Year’s Eve is jam-packed with fun activities to kick off 2013!
Assembly Speaker John Perez and Jeff LeTourneau
The race to see who will replace Frank Barbaro as the new Chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) is down to two candidates – longtime activist Jeff LeTourneau and paid consultant Henry Vandermeir.
The DPOC is at a crossroads – Orange County is less red than ever. The Democrats picked up another legislative seat this November when Sharon Quirk-Silva won in the 65th Assembly District, with capable help from Vandermeir’s wife Lois, who is also a paid consultant.
There is nothing wrong with being a paid political consultant. I do some of that work too. But should paid consultants be heading up political party organizations? I don’t think so. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DECEMBER 27, 2012
CONTACT: MARCUS GINNATY, 949-724-6574
Great Night! Family New Year’s Eve Celebration at the Great Park
Monday, December 31st from 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Great Night! kicks off at 5 p.m. on Monday, December 31 and culminates with a countdown and celebration of New Year’s Eve 2013 on East Coast time at 9 p.m. As the clock strikes 9 p.m., the Great Park rings in the New Year with an explosion of streamers, party hats and noise makers.
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This was a news-packed year in Santa Ana – and women were a big part of many of our leading stories this year. Now its time to pick our 2012 Woman of the Year. Are you ready to vote? You may vote for up to three candidates! Please let me know if I overlooked someone who should be added to the poll. Voting will close on Jan. 8, 2013.
Our nominees include popular politicians and community and education leaders, including Angelica Amezcua, the schoolteacher who came out of nowhere to win a seat on the Santa Ana City Councilp; Claudia Alvarez, who finished her last term as Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem and promptly got elected to the RSCCD Board of Trustees; Cecilia Iglesias, the newly minted Republican who ended up being the top vote-getter for the SAUSD School Board; and Delilah Snell, the creative mastermind of the Road Less Traveled and the Patchwork Festivals.
Here is our poll – be sure to vote for up to three candidates: Continue reading
As has been our tradition, it is time to vote for the Santa Ana Man and Woman of the Year, for 2012. And we have quite a few great choices to choose from, in our poll below. You can vote for up to three nominees. Voting will close on January 8, 2013.
This year’s mayoral race produced three of our nominees – Mayor Miguel Pulido, and candidates David Benavides and George Collins. But we also delved into our city’s non-profit sector to find stellar nominees Dwight Smith, of the OC Catholic Worker; Armando De La Libertad, the Director of the Delhi Center; Scott Overpeck, of the awesome community project Laundry Love; Scott Glaab, the head of the Santa Ana Athletic Foundation and a local high school wrestling coach; and Benjamín Vázquez, of El Centro Cultural de Mexico.
Please let us know if we missed anyone and we can add them to our poll right away. Here is the poll – note that you may vote for up to three candidates at once: Continue reading
What is up with the Santa Ana City Council? In their quest to fire popular and successful City Manager Paul Walters, they are talking like tough guys – as if they have some sort of mandate. But do they?
Here’s what Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero told the O.C. Register after this week’s last minute closed-door meeting to ostensibly review the performance of City Manager Paul Walters and Sonia R. Carvalho, our City Attorney (who was added to the agenda just to make this look like less of a lynching of Walters):
“I don’t think he’s angered them,” Tinajero said of Walters. “It’s the mayor’s reluctance to address the fact that there are seven council members. The mayor has to realize that you don’t get to call all the shots.” Continue reading
Snow Day at Calvary Church of Santa Ana on Sunday, December 30th
You are invited to join us as we conclude our Christmas series called ‘Something to Sing About’ with a special “5th Sunday” looking at the Christmas carol ‘Joy to the World’ in our Sunday morning services at 8:45 and 10:45 am. Invite a friend and come find the beauty, hope, and reason for why we truly have something to sing about!
After the service, bring your mittens and scarves for Calvary’s 1st Annual Snow Day where the courtyard will be transformed into a fun winter wonderland! Come and enjoy free… Continue reading
EXCLUSIVE – The Santa Ana City Council met today in a last-minute closed-session to consider the fate of City Manager Paul Walters. Don’t buy the B.S. that they were also reviewing the City Attorney’s performance. She was tossed onto the agenda to make this look like less of a kangaroo court.
My sources tell me that a decision was made – the City Council will fire Walters at the second Council meeting in January, even though he has meant so much to this city over the years, building and managing a state-of-the-art prison that has turned a profit by leasing space to other police agencies; saving our city budget last year when things looked so bleak; and lowering crime throughout his tenure as our Chief of Police and City Manager, to levels not seen in our city in many, many years. Continue reading
Is Gerardo Mouet the Chosen One?
Do you remember when Santa Ana Council Member David Benavides and his allies were screaming about transparency during his failed campaign for Mayor? Well that sure went out the window since Benavides lost.
Benavides and company have put a City Council meeting on calendar for this Thursday, at 1:15 pm. Now think about that for a minute. It is Christmas week. Many folks are off on vacation. The rest of us are working and can’t attend or watch this meeting online. What is at stake? Only the future well-being of our city. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 26, 2012
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Joel Zlotnik (714) 560-5713, Laura Scheper, (714) 560-5697
OCTA Rings In The New Year With Free Bus Rides
OCTA plays designated driver for 11th year
ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is helping make end of the year celebrations safe and hassle-free by providing free bus rides between 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31 and 2:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1. Continue reading
UPDATED: There is now an agenda posted for a special City Council meeting set for Thursday, December 27, 2012 at 1:15 pm to evaluate the performance of the Santa Ana City Manager and City Attorney.
My sources are reporting that Santa Ana Council Member David Benavides is still planning on calling for a special Council meeting so that he and his cabal can try to fire Santa Ana City Manager Paul Walters, even as the city struggles with the attempt by the State of California to seize $56 million dollars in redevelopment money from our city coffers. Continue reading
Angelica Amezcua, courtesy of the OC Register
The year 2012 was a great year for news in Santa Ana. I have reviewed all of our readership data and come up with our top ten stories in Santa Ana this year. Here they are:
Santa Ana’s City Hall will be closed for the Holiday break starting Friday, December 21, 2012 through Tuesday, January 1, 2013. City Hall will resume normal business on Wednesday, January 2, 2013, according to a City press release.
Street cleaning and trash hauling will will run like normal, except for taking days off to recognize the Christmas and New Years holidays. Graffiti removal will continue seven days a week, according to the City’s Public Information Officer. Continue reading
Photo courtesy of the Orange Juice Blog
The nonsense described in this post, Supervisors Taking Issue With OCTA Board Majority, from Thursday’s union-funded Voice of OC suggests it’s time to expand on an idea we’ve offered in here before — the 17-member Orange County Transportation Authority Board ought to be ELECTED.
Adam Elmahrek’s piece well details the infighting, professional immaturity and malfeasance that’s developed on this too large Board of Directors that’s responsible for the OCTA and its $1.1 billion budget. This Board could easily be downsized to a more effective group at least half its current size, say seven or nine people. The non-voting Caltrans representative can be eliminated as worthless.
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Santa Ana is a city dominated by Democrats. Our city Council is entirely comprised of Democrats. Our State Assemblyman, our State Senator and our U.S. Representative are all Democrats. Yet the Democrats in Sacramento, led by Governor Jerry Brown, are trying to force the City of Santa Ana to fork over millions of dollars in redevelopment dollars that are already committed to affordable housing projects for the needy.
Mayor Miguel Pulido and our City Council say they are going to lobby Brown and his peers but they alone cannot stop this from happening. Only we can save our city!
Click here to email Gov. Brown. Here is the message I sent him (under the category of Taxes as his administration is threatening to withhold property tax money from our city): Continue reading