Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Monthly Archives: January 2016

The Santa Ana Transit Terminal is now open to the homeless during bad weather

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 31, 2016

Contact: Cymantha Atkinson (949) 337-5014, Cymantha.Atkinson@ocgov.com

Santa Ana Transit Terminal Open to Homeless During Storm

(Santa Ana, CA) – Eighty homeless individuals were housed Saturday evening at the Santa Ana Transit Terminal during Saturday evening rains, the first activation of the temporary shelter since its use was approved Friday by the Board of Supervisors.

“It is critical that we make emergency shelter available to those most vulnerable during severe rain events,” commented Orange County Board of Supervisors’ Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett as she toured the shelter on Sunday. “I am proud to say we made it happen.” Continue reading→

Why has no one at the OC Central Men’s Jail been disciplined over the recent escape?

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January was a bad month for O.C. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens. Not only did three inmates escape from the O.C. Central Men’s Jail – a Deputy Sheriff also left an AR-15 rifle on the trunk of his car and drove off. That weapon has still not been recovered.

Hutchens has not had much to say about the jailbreak. Here is the one-paragraph statement she released yesterday: Continue reading→

538 crimes were reported from Jan. 25 through today in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Santa Ana 5 Comments

It is hard to fathom how much crime happens in Santa Ana on a regular basis. There were 538 crimes reported in our city this week, from Monday, January 25, 2016 through today, by CrimeMapping.

The crimes included 12 Assaults with Deadly Weapons and Shootings at Occupied Dwellings:

  • Assault/Deadly Weapon – 600 BLOCK N MAIN ST Santa Ana Police 1/26/2016 08:16 PM
  • Assault/Deadly Weapon – 3000 BLOCK W EDINGER AV Santa Ana Police 1/26/2016 03:46 PM
  • Assault/Deadly Weapon – 400 BLOCK E CHESTNUT AV Santa Ana Police 1/26/2016 06:20 PM
  • Assault/Deadly Weapon – 1000 BLOCK N TUSTIN AV Santa Ana Police 1/26/2016 09:45 PM
  • Assault/Deadly Weapon – 2900 BLOCK W MCFADDEN AV Santa Ana Police 1/27/2016 08:35 PM
  • Assault/Deadly Weapon 2016-02609 S GRAND AV / E 1ST ST Santa Ana Police 1/28/2016 07:16 AM
  • Assault/Deadly Weapon 2016-02422 400 BLOCK N GRAND AV Santa Ana Police 1/26/2016 06:56 AM
  • Assault/Deadly Weapon – 1000 BLOCK W CIVIC CENTER DR Santa Ana Police 1/25/2016 06:45 PM
  • Assault/Deadly Weapon 2016-02347 E 4TH ST / N POINSETTIA ST Santa Ana Police 1/25/2016 01:06 PM
  • Assault/Deadly Weapon 2016-02635 700 BLOCK N FAIRVIEW ST Santa Ana Police 1/28/2016 12:48 PM
  • Shooting at Occupied Dwelling 2016-02677 300 BLOCK S BIRCH ST Santa Ana Police 1/28/2016 09:09 PM
  • Shooting At Occupied Dwelling 2016-02701 W RUSSELL AV / S OLIVE ST Santa Ana Police 1/29/2016 02:18 AM

Continue reading→

Updated: The two remaining OC Jail escapees are under arrest in San Francisco

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The two escapees from the Orange County Jail that were still at large have been arrested by the San Francisco Police Department, according to the Orange County Sheriff Department’s Twitter page.

Escaped inmate Bac Duong was the first to return to custody when he turned himself in on Friday January 29, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Temporary Santa Ana homeless shelter approved by the OC Supervisors

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Supervisors Approve Temporary Shelter for Homeless during Rains

A plan to provide emergency shelter beds for the homeless during El Niño rainstorms at the unused Santa Ana Transit Terminal was approved Friday by the Board of Supervisors in a special meeting held so the beds could be prepared before expected weekend rain.

By a unanimous vote of those attending, Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett, Vice Chair Michelle Steel and Supervisor Shawn Nelson approved an interim lease with the Orange County Transportation Authority for short-term use of the terminal. The plan was authorized earlier this week by the Federal Transit Administration, whose approval was required. Continue reading→

Jan. 31 is the last day to sign up for Covered California health care insurance

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LAST CHANCE: JANUARY 31 DEADLINE FOR COVERED CALIFORNIA

Nine of 10 of Uninsured May Qualify for Financial Assistance and Avoid Paying $650 tax

AltaMed Enrollment Center Offers Bilingual Assistance in Santa Ana

SANTA ANA, CA – The deadline for signing up for health insurance under Covered California is fast approaching, with Sunday, January 31 as the last day to sign up and avoid paying the federal tax.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of southern Californians remain uninsured and of those, nine out of 10 may qualify for state and federal financial assistance to help cover the cost of their health care coverage. Those uninsured will face a tax penalty of $695 this year. Continue reading→

PLACAS, the Most Dangerous Tattoo to debut in Orange County on February 11

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Paul S. Flores, the Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities, the Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble, and partner organizations are presenting PLACAS: the Most Dangerous Tattoo, starring Ric Salinas of Culture Clash, from February 11-13, 2016, at the South Coast Repertory in The Nicholas Studio.
PLACAS:  The Most Dangerous Tattoo, is a bilingual tale of fathers and sons, transformation and redemption that illuminates one man’s determination to reunite his family after surviving civil war in El Salvador, immigration, deportation, prison and street violence.

Continue reading→

Sorry Santa Ana and L.A., the Chargers are staying in San Diego!

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Santa Ana residents got very excited when the San Diego Chargers bought a plot of land in town this week, to develop into a practice facility and some offices. However the Chargers announced today that they are “staying in San Diego for the 2016 in hopes of negotiating a stadium deal with the city,” according to a statement released by team owner Dean Spanos.

Here’s the full statement from Spanos: Continue reading→

O.C. Jail escapee Bac Duong turned himself in this morning

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One of the inmates who escaped last week from the Orange County Men’s Central Jail, Bac Duong, turned himself in this morning, according to the O.C. Register.

Duong, who is 43 years old, was arrested just before noon today near the Auto Electric Rebuilders shop at 1421 N. Harbor Blvd., in Santa Ana, after he got in touch with a woman in Santa Ana.

Duong apparently approached a passerby on the street and said that he wanted to turn himself in. Continue reading→

Career College of California in Santa Ana closed down today

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The Career College of California (CCC), located in Santa Ana, shuttered their doors today. No explanation has been offered but several of their students contacted us today with the bad news. We also heard from a career advisor at CCC, who confirmed the closure.

Ironically CCC recently published an article about “Steps to Take if Your School is Closing.” Now their own students should take a look at CCC’s recommendations: Continue reading→

ESL teacher suspected of helping the escaped OC Jail inmates is arrested

Posted on by Posted in Crime, Education, Orange County, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Nooshafarian Ravaghi, 44, of Lake Forest, an English as a Second Language teacher from the Rancho Santiago Community College District who worked in the OC Central Men’s Jail has been arrested, according to the O.C. Register.

Ravaghi allegedly helped the three escaped inmates – Hossein Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu and Bac Duong to escape by providing them with Google Maps and in other ways not yet disclosed by the OC Sheriff.

The motive?  Apparently Ravaghi and Nayeri exceeded their student-teacher association as they developed what has been described as a “closer relationship.” Continue reading→

The Dora & Diego Let’s Explore exhibit will open at the Discovery Cube on 2/6

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DISCOVERY CUBE INVITES CHILDREN ON AN ADVENTUROUS VOYAGE AS PART OF THE DORA & DIEGO – LET’S EXPLORE! EXHIBIT ON FEBRUARY 6

Dora & Diego – Let’s Explore! Exhibit to Feature Hands-On Activities and Interactive Games for an Enjoyable and Educational Learning Experience February 6 to May 15

Nonprofit Discovery Cube welcomes the bilingual exhibit Dora & Diego – Let’s Explore! based on the Nickelodeon television series Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! Families and schools are invited to join Dora, her cousin Diego and their many friends on a great voyage. Children will help Dora and Diego on their active adventure and learn to role-play, solve problems, practice sharing and caring behaviors, and learn Spanish words.

These thrilling explorations help kids see what a day in the life of Dora the Explorer is all about. The exhibit includes opportunities to engage and teach children about the many different elements of the earth, including flowers, plants, animals and the atmosphere. Discovery Cube ultimately hopes to teach children more about the world we live in.

Interactive exhibit areas include: Continue reading→

The Supervisors will discuss the proposed DTSA homeless shelter tomorrow

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The Orange County Board of Supervisors are conducting a special meeting tomorrow, January 29, 2016, at 3 p.m. at the Hall of Administration.

They will be discussing one item – the approval of a lease with the Orange County Transit District for emergency shelter services to the homeless during expected El Nino weather at the Santa Ana Transit Terminal, located at 400 W. Santa Ana Boulevard, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Santa Ana’s updated 2016 holiday street sweeping and trash collection schedule

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City of Santa Ana

City of Santa Ana Holiday Street Sweeping and Trash Collection Schedule for 2016

As a reminder, please be aware that the City of Santa Ana does not provide street sweeping on City observed Holidays. The 2016 holiday street sweeping schedule is provided below for your information. This includes the trash collection holiday schedule, which indicates the days where there will be a one-day collection delay.

When street sweeping and trash collection fall on the same day due to the holiday schedule, please place your trash cart on your curb, parkway or driveway. Please contact the Public Works Agency if you have any questions at (714) 647-3380. Continue reading→

Parolee arrested after making threats at the Social Security office in Santa Ana

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The SAPD arrested a woman this morning on suspicion of making terrorist threats toward a security guard outside the Social Security Administration office, according to the O.C. Register.

The SAPD received calls about the woman’s actions this morning and responded at about 9:15 a.m. to the Social Security Administration branch that is located on the fifth floor of 1851 E. 1st St.

The suspect, whose name was not revealed by the SAPD, appears to have walked up to the fifth floor before she started berating the security officer, who was by himself. Continue reading→