Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Monthly Archives: December 2015

Recall effort against Judge who gave a light sentence to a Santa Ana molester fails

Posted on by Posted in Courts, Crime, Lawyers, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 3 Comments

A recall campaign against Judge Marc Kelly, an Orange County Superior Court judge who reduced the sentence for a Santa Ana man convicted of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old relative, has fizzled after organizers were unable to gather enough signatures to put the recall on the June ballot, according to the O.C. Register.

The recall effort was launched against Kelly in reaction to his April ruling in the Kevin Jonas Rojano-Nieto case, in which Rojano-Nieto was convicted of sexual assault of a 3-year-old relative. Despite state law imposing a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years, Kelly slashed the sentence down by 60% to 10 years, according to OC Political. Continue reading→

Santa Ana’s Belen Guadalupe Sicair arrested for fatal hit and run accident

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

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: UPDATE: SAPD Detectives locate fatal hit and run suspect vehicle

Suspect:  Belen Guadalupe Sicair, (22) Santa Ana

Booking Charges: 20001(a) VC-Felony Hit and Run

Summary: On 11/29/15 at approximately 1:43 a.m., officers responded to the scene of a vehicle vs. pedestrian hit and run fatal traffic collision at 1200 W. 1st St.
The investigation revealed that a blue obsidian pearl Honda Accord (midnight blue) struck a pedestrian as the pedestrian was crossing 1st St. The Honda fled from the scene westbound on 1st St. without providing identification or rendering aid to the pedestrian. Continue reading→

The OCTA is offering free bus rides on New Year’s Eve

Posted on by Posted in OCTA, Santa Ana, Transportation Leave a comment

OCTA Offering Free Bus Rides on New Year’s Eve

Free bus rides on New Year’s Eve is back! So go ahead and plan a fun night on the town and OC Bus will get you there and back safely. OCTA is providing free rides on any fixed route bus beginning on Thursday December 31st at 6 pm and extending through 2:30 am on Friday January 1st.

Taking the bus is pretty easy. Even after a great party you can probably figure things out. Just in case, you can find everything you need to plan your trip in OCTA’s how to ride section. OCTA encourages you to plan ahead using the Google Trip Planner since not all routes run past midnight. Remember it is free after 6 pm, so bring $2 bus fare if you are getting an early start. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man arrested for the murder of a woman in Newport Beach

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Newport Beach, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Newport Beach Police Department

Community Press Release – Homicide Investigation UPDATE

Arrested: Isaac Nieto Hernandez, male Hispanic, 29-year-old resident of Santa Ana

On Tuesday, December 29, 2015 at approximately 12:11 a.m., the Newport Beach Police Department received a call regarding suspicious circumstances. The callers were concerned about their associate, a young woman who was last seen at an office building on Campus Drive an hour or two earlier. The callers had searched for the young woman, but were unable to find her. She had also stopped responding to text messages or answering her cell phone, which raised concern for her safety.

Officers responded and began to search the area. Shortly after 1:30 a.m., they located the woman, deceased, inside the building located at 5030 Campus Drive. The Orange County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim as Sarai Alcaraz, a 23-year-old resident of Long Beach. The cause of death has not yet been determined. Detectives are currently investigating this incident as a homicide, however and manner and cause of death will be determined pending autopsy and toxicology reports from the Coroner’s Office. Continue reading→

The empty bus terminal in Downtown Santa Ana may be used to help the homeless

Posted on by Posted in Andrew Do, homeless, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

Many community activists in Santa Ana have openly wondered why the vacated OCTA bus terminal, at 405 W. 5th St., has not been used to provide temporary shelter for the many homeless who gather at the Civic Center every day. Now the County of Orange is finally in a position to make this happen as they are finalizing the purchase of the bus terminal, according to the O.C. Register.

The terminal will be purchased for $3.3 million dollars, which will include the terminal and a 473-space parking structure and a seven-story office building that will remain the headquarters of the Orange County Health Care Agency.

The OCTA opened the bus terminal in 1984 but stopped using it in 2008 instead of renovating it to fit the newly designed, natural-gas fueled buses that have become much of the OCTA’s fleet today. Continue reading→

Ex-con with a long criminal record charged with assaulting a 3-year-old girl in Santa Ana

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John Luis Whelpley, a 45-year-old ex-con, was charged on Tuesday with assault and making criminal threats for allegedly attacking a 3-year-old girl with a screwdriver and another victim with a flower pot, golf club and a chunk of concrete in Santa Ana on Christmas Eve, according to the O.C. Register.

Whelpley was charged with four felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury and one count of making criminal threats, according to court records. Continue reading→

Bat found at Irvine Regional Park tests positive for rabies

Posted on by Posted in Disease, Health and Medical, Orange, Parks and Recreation Leave a comment

For Immediate Release: December 29, 2015

Contact: Tricia Landquist tlandquist@ochca.com, 714-834-2178

Bat Found at Irvine Regional Park Tests Positive for Rabies

(Santa Ana) – A bat found near the lake at Irvine Regional Park at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 27, 2015 has tested positive for rabies. Anyone who may have had physical contact with this bat or saw someone else having contact with the bat is asked to call Orange County Health Care Agency Epidemiology at (714) 834-8180 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or (714) 834-7792 after hours to determine the risk for rabies.

The rabies virus is found in an animal’s saliva and is transmitted to people by a bite from a rabid animal. Although very rare, contamination of the eyes, mouth or an open wound by the saliva of a rabid animal can also transmit rabies. Most cases of human rabies in the United States in recent years have resulted from bat strains of rabies; bats have very small teeth, and their bites may go unnoticed. Continue reading→

Armed suspect captured after robbing an Orange gas station and two carjackings in San Diego

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Orange Leave a comment

Ira Alexander Stringer, a 45-year-old man, is in custody after being suspected of robbing an Orange gas station and fleeing law enforcement in a pursuit that endured for 45 miles and ended after a two-hour standoff in Riverside early on Sunday, according to the O.C. Register.

After he was arrested, Stringer also admitted to carjacking a baseball coach and 16-year-old boy from the area around Hickman Field in Kearny Mesa around 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to ABC 10 News. Continue reading→

Free winter playwriting series to launch on Jan. 9 at the CSUF Grand Central Arts Center

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

Join the launch of the Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble’s Winter Playwriting Series on January 9th @ GCAC

WHEN: Saturday, January 9 @ 1:00pm to 4:00 pm

WHERE: CSUF Grand Central Arts Center (basement space). 125 N Broadway, in Santa Ana

The Launch is to help participants learn more about the series, expectations, the organization, the teaching artists and each other.

Each workshop is FREE with an emphasis on playwriting taught by theater professionals. No experience necessary. Spaces are limited. A public shared reading will culminate the winter series. This is an opportunity for our writers to hear their work read out loud in a staged reading format. All are encouraged to participate as writers, readers, and/or audience members. Continue reading→

Man stabbed at the 2600 block of Cypress Ave., in Santa Ana

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

A man was stabbed at the 2600 block of Cypress Avenue, at around 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, according to the O.C. Register.

The man had a knife wound in his lower left leg. He ended up at a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A male suspect is thought to have fled in a black SUV. The SAPD has not established if the two men knew each other or what might have led to the attack. Continue reading→

ALDI to host additional hiring events for Orange County stores on Jan. 5

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, buena park, Food, Fountain Valley, Jobs Leave a comment

California’s Newest Grocer, ALDI, Brings Jobs to Los Angeles, Orange Counties

Company to Fill Store Associate Positions During Hiring Events on Jan. 5

LOS ANGELES – December 21, 2015 – Offering wages and benefits that are higher than the national average for the retail industry, ALDI will host 11 hiring events on Tuesday, Jan. 5 to fill Store Associate positions for the grocer’s initial Los Angeles and Orange County stores. The March 2016 arrival of ALDI will expand grocery retail options with the ALDI difference of fresh, high-quality groceries at everyday low prices.

Who: Local residents currently seeking employment opportunities

  • Hiring for future ALDI store in Anaheim: Anaheim Business Expo, 1960 South Anaheim Way, Anaheim, CA 92805, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Hiring for future ALDI store in Buena Park: Radisson Suites, 7762 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, CA 90620, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Hiring for future ALDI store in Fountain Valley: ALDI Fountain Valley, 17070 Magnolia St., Fountain Valley, CA 92708, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Continue reading→

Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que will open today at Santa Ana’s MainPlace Mall

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

Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que Opens at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana

Southern California’s favorite family-owned award winning barbeque destination, Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que restaurant celebrates the opening on December 23rd of its first Santa Ana location that will give visitors at MainPlace Mall a whole new view.

Located at 2800 N. Main St., Santa Ana, this Lucille’s features full-height windows that open outward offering guests a high view of the city from the middle floor of the mall. At the center of this and all Lucille’s restaurants is a Southern Pride smoker where succulent cuts of brisket, tri-tip, ribs and more are smoked low and slow to perfection with a variety of authentic sauces from different regions around the South. Lucille’s Flying Pig lounges feature craft beers, wine and spirits, special appetizers and a full menu. Continue reading→

Homeless man murdered at Heritage Park identified as Rudy Correa

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

The Orange County Coroner has identified the homeless man who was shot to death just outside Heritage Park, in his sleeping bag, on Dec. 13, at around 3:30 p.m., according to the O.C. Register.

The victim was Rudy Correa, 55-years-old.  He had been living at Heritage Park, located at 4812 W. Camille St., for some time. Continue reading→