Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Monthly Archives: December 2013

Downtown Santa Ana Art Walk set for tonight, rain or shine

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Well it’s raining but the Downtown Santa Ana Art Walk is set for tonight, so bring a poncho. Here is what is going on:

OCDA receives $386K state grant to fight against driving under the influence of drugs

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OCDA Seal

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

For Immediate Release: December 6, 2013

OCDA RECEIVES $386,060 STATE GRANT TO INCREASE FIGHT AGAINST DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS

SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) has received a $386,060 state grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to address the problem of driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs in Orange County. This is the fourth OTS grant awarded to OCDA in an effort to improve detection and prosecution of alcohol and drug-related DUI cases. The OTS grant is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Between 2005 and 2012, the OCDA received over $1.3 million in OTS grants to facilitate the prosecution of DUI alcohol and drug cases by allowing deputy district attorneys and clerical support staff to focus exclusively on DUI cases. Continue reading→

Amber Alert – abductor and a 14 year-old girl may be headed for Mexico

Posted on by Posted in Crime, mexico, Santa Ana Leave a comment

AN AMBER ALERT HAS BEEN ACTIVATED STATEWIDE AT THE REQUEST OF THE WASHINGTON STATE POLICE

Elizabeth Romero was abducted on Dec. 4, 2013, from Kennewick, WA and her suspected abductor, Eduardo Flores-Rosales, a 19-year old Hispanic male who stands 5′ 9″ tall and weighs 200 pounds, may be headed for Mexico, according to authorities.

Romero stands 5′ 3″ tall and weighs 130 pounds.  She has brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a white tank top, dark pants, a backpack and a pink purse. Continue reading→

Pomona man convicted of pimping and pandering a woman in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Crime, OCDA, Santa Ana Leave a comment

OCDA Seal

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

For Immediate Release, Case # 13CF2824: December 5, 2013

MAN CONVICTED OF PIMPING AND PANDERING WOMAN

FULLERTON – A man was convicted yesterday of pimping and pandering a woman in Santa Ana. Damion Henri Soul, 39, Pomona, was convicted by a jury yesterday, Dec. 4, 2013, of one felony count of pimping and one felony count of pandering.

The defendant faces sentencing enhancements for two prior strike convictions from 1993 in Los Angeles County for armed robbery, assault with a firearm, and prior prison felony convictions in 1998 for forgery, and possession of a controlled substance in 2003 and 2006. He faces a maximum sentence of 16 years in state prison on Dec. 16, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in Department N-6, North Justice Center, Fullerton. Continue reading→

Free Diabetes Seminar at Mother’s Market in Santa Ana on 12/10

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Mother's Market Logo

Mother’s Market in Santa Ana and the American Diabetes Association are hosting a Free Diabetes Seminar on Tuesday, December 10, 2013, from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm.

An American Diabetes Association survey says 40% of high-risk individuals thought they were not at risk of developing diabetes or prediabetes, while 30% of those with modifiable risk factors believed they had an increased risk of the condition. Health providers said 25% of at-risk patients were very well-informed about their higher diabetes and heart disease risk.

The Santa Ana location is located at 151 E Memory Ln., at the CityPlace shopping center [map]. Continue reading→

City announces Santa Ana Small Business Incentive Program

Posted on by Posted in Business, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Santa-Ana-City-Logo

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community: CITY ANNOUNCES SANTA ANA SMALL BUSINESS INCENTIVE PROGRAM

SANTA ANA, CA (December 5, 2013) – If you are a new business (in business a year or less), have 5 or less employees and are located in a commercial storefront, your business could be eligible to receive a $5,000 reimbursement for start-up business costs that you have incurred during your start-up phase.

Examples of Start-up costs can be, but not limited to: Continue reading→

Local sunglasses business launch party set for 12/12 in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Alex Flores, Business, Education, Entertainment, Santa Ana 7 Comments

unum

Santa Ana resident and community activist Alex Flores is hosting a Business Launch Party for his enterprise, Unum Sunglasses, on Thursday, December 12th, from  6:30pm – 9pm, at 207 N. Main St., in Santa Ana.

The event will feature music by Dj Tytonix. To RSVP email aflores@unumsunglasses.com or call 714-474-8768. Continue reading→

120 students invited to visit the Ford Regional HQ as part of gang prevention program

Posted on by Posted in OCMAHS (OC Mexican-American Historical Society), Santa Ana, Youth Activities 2 Comments

SAPD

Santa Ana Police Department Community Alert: 120 STUDENTS INVITED FOR AN INSIDE LOOK AT FORD REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS FOR GANG PREVENTION INCENTIVE

ORANGE COUNTY – Ford Motor Company (Ford) invited 120 elementary and middle school at-risk students to visit its Irvine design facilities Friday, Dec. 6, 2013, as an incentive for positive behavior, perfect attendance, and staying out of gangs. To earn this reward, the students met a challenge to have no unexcused absences, criminal activity or arrests, violence or weapons on campus, and gang-related clothing, writing, or behavior.

During their visit to the Ford Irvine headquarters, students will be among the first to see the all-new Ford Mustang which will have debuted globally on Dec. 5, 2013. They will spend time with Ford’s design team learning about the studio design process of concept cars including the Shelby Cobra Concept, Bronco Concept, Start Concept, Bullitt Mustang, and the Hot Wheels Transit Connect and will also interact with Ford employees in a variety of games and activities with prizes. Lunch will be provided courtesy of Taco Bell. Continue reading→

SAPD arrests two suspects in cold case murder of Juan Manual Diaz

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Steve Moreno

Santa Ana Police Department Advisory: Detectives arrest two suspects in 2011 Cold Case Murder of Juan Manual Diaz

Homicide Detectives working on new leads in the 11-2-2011 Murder of Juan Manual Diaz identified two suspects they believe committed the shooting death. On 12-3-2013 Detectives arrested Steve Moreno (25) Santa Ana during a traffic stop in the City of Santa Ana. The second suspect Emmanuel Vega (29) Eastvale was located at his place of employment in the City of Chino as well as the vehicle belonging to him a 2003 Toyota 4 Runner. Detectives believe the vehicle was used during the murder.

Arrested: Both booked into the SAPD Jail Continue reading→

SAPD arrests two for school burglaries and recover stolen iPads and laptops

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Christopher Erik Clark

Santa Ana Police Department Advisory: Police Detectives arrest two for school Burglaries recover 62 Apple iPads and nine Apple iMac laptop computers

There were two separate burglaries reported at Hazard Elementary at 4218 West Hazard in Santa Ana. The first burglary occurred sometime between the dates of November 22-26. The second occurred between November 26 and December 2nd. During the two burglaries a total of 69 Apple iPads and nine Apple iMac laptop computers were taken. There was no suspect information at the time of these crimes.

On 12-3-2013 the police department received information that lead officers to a computer repair shop located in the 2600 block of West 17th street. At the business, officers located 18 of the Pads and all nine of the iMac laptops belonging to Hazard Elementary School. Detectives following up on leads obtained during the investigation located suspect #1 Javier Cruz Perez (38) of Santa Ana in possession of 12 additional iPads. Continue reading→

Senator Correa’s 13th Annual Santa Ana Zoo Event is set for Dec. 8

Posted on by Posted in Entertainment, Lou Correa, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Lou Correa at the Santa Ana Zoo

2013 Annual Santa Ana Zoo Event

It’s time again to spread goodwill and holiday cheer to Orange County’s deserving children. Bring a can of food or an unwrapped toy to the event and Spend a Free Day at the Zoo, courtesy of State Senator Lou Correa.

The 13th Annual Holiday Canned Food and Toy Drive at the Santa Ana Zoo is set for Sunday, December 8th, 2013, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Continue reading→

4x Super Bowl Champ Jesse Sapolu to sign autographs at MainPlace on 12/6

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Jesse Sapolu

Four-time San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl champion Jesse Sapolu will be signing autographs on Friday, Dec. 6, 2013, from 3:30 pm to 9 pm at the Westfield MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana.

In his new book, I Gave My Heart to San Francisco, four-time San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl champion Jesse Sapolu detailed the highlights and hardships of his remarkable playing career, according to the 49ers website.

Jesse Sapolu attended Farrington High School and the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. Standing 6 feet 4 inches, 278 lbs., he was selected by the Oakland Invaders in the 17th round (199th pick overall) of the 1983 USFL draft, and selected by San Francisco 49ers in the 11th round (289th pick overall) of the 1983 NFL Draft. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers on July 10, 1983, according to Wikipedia. Continue reading→

Effort underway to bring Ward-Specific Council elections to Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Tinajero, Martinez and Benavides

I have been advocating for Ward-Specific City Council elections, here in Santa Ana, for many years.  Our current system, which features six Wards, forces candidates to campaign in the entire city.  That is a very expensive proposition.  It leads to corruption as the candidates inevitably have to sell out to Special Interests in order to raise the humongous amounts of money needed to run for our City Council.

Just how corrupt our system is came to light today in a Voice of OC article that fingered three of our Council Members for allegedly accepting money under less than legal circumstances, from an apartment developer of course.

Hope is not lost however as I have discovered that there is in fact an effort underway to place a measure on the ballot to allow the voters of this city to opt for a Ward-Specific Council election system.  In that scenario the Council candidates would only have to campaign in one Ward.  They could conceivably walk that ward all on their own.  They could meet all the voters and garner their support.  The Special Interests? They would be out of luck. Continue reading→

Raider and USC football great Rod Martin to sign autographs at the MainPlace Mall

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Rod Martin

Rod Martin, Raiders the 2X Super Bowl Champion and USC Trojan, will be signing autographs this weekend, Sat and Sun Dec. 7 & 8, from 11 am to 3 pm at the Westfield MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana.

This is a great opportunity for Santa Ana residents to meet and greet this NFL Great!

Former USC LB Rod Martin had his moment in the sun at Super Bowl XV when he picked off three passes to secure the championship for the Oakland Raiders, according to USC. Continue reading→