Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Civic Affairs

Your help is needed to plant trees at Centennial Park this Saturday

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Nature, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Invitation to Volunteer for Centennial Park’s Tree Planting Event – Saturday, December 1, 2018

Santa Ana residents are invited to volunteer for a special Tree-Planting event with the City’s Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Agency, at Centennial Park (3000 West Edinger Avenue) on Saturday, December 1st from 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM.

We will plant 13 African Fern trees along parking lot that is closest to lake, next to main entrance on its right. As these trees grow, they will provide shade for parked cars and for walking on adjacent sidewalk on hot sunny days. Continue reading→

Free sandbags now available at the Santa Ana City Yard

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana, Water, Weather Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Advisory: CITY OF SANTA ANA SANDBAGS AVAILABLE @CITYYARD CIUDAD DE SANTA ANA/SACOS DE ARENA DISPONIBLES EN LA YARDA CORPORATIVA

The City of Santa Ana has made sandbags available to City residents and businesses during winter storms or rain events. Up to ten (10) sandbags are available per Santa Ana residence location or Santa Ana business location.

The self-service sandbag station is available at: Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council picked new wards that excluded Ceci Iglesias

Posted on by Posted in 2020 Elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, Politics, Santa Ana 6 Comments

 

Santa Ana Ward Map C2

Santa Ana City officials have finally selected the new boundaries for the city’s six wards, which will kick off Santa Ana’s transition to by-district voting in two years, according to the O.C. Register.

Santa Ana’s voters passed a Ward Specific City Council measure in the recent General Election. The measure was put on the ballot after the City of Santa Ana was sued by an organization that was seeking to level the playing field for the city’s Asian-American voters. You can read more about the ward-specific measure and proceedings here. Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana Workforce Development Board is looking for Youth Service Providers

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana, Youth Activities Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: THE SANTA ANA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD IS RELEASING AN RFP UNDER THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION & OPPORTUNITY ACT FOR YOUTH SERVICE PROVIDERS

The City of Santa Ana Workforce Development Board is requesting Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) Proposals for Youth Service Providers to join the Youth Service Provider Network and provide one or all fourteen WIOA youth elements to youth ages 16-24 years old.

The goal is to provide a stronger and cohesive delivery system within the Santa Ana community, based on The All Youth One System/No Wrong Door Concept. The system focuses on academic improvement, workforce preparation, and collectively offering the 14 program elements of WIOA in a creative and interactive manner to youth participants. Continue reading→

It’s going to be up to the Millennials to save the City of Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, Dave Ream, David Penaloza, Elections, Juan Villegas, Miguel Pulido, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Santa Ana’s baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. I just missed that time period – marking me as a member of Gen X. The baby boomers love to point fingers at the up and coming Millennials but a new book suggests that it is the boomers who are to blame for many of today’s societal problems.

Bruce Gibney argues in his new book “A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America,” that the boomers have committed “generational plunder,” pillaging the nation’s economy, repeatedly cutting their own taxes, financing two wars with deficits, ignoring climate change, presiding over the death of America’s manufacturing core, and leaving future generations to clean up the mess they created. Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana announces their 2018 and 2019 Holiday Street Sweeping & Trash Collection Schedule

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana, Street Sweeping, Waste Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Advisory: 2018 Santa Ana Holiday Street Sweeping & Trash Collection Schedule

As a reminder, please be aware that the City of Santa Ana does not provide street sweeping on City observed Holidays. The 2018 and 2019 holiday street sweeping schedule is provided below for your information and includes the trash collection holiday schedule, which indicates the days where there will be a one-day collection delay.

To maximize street sweeping quality, please locate your trash cart on your curb, parkway or driveway when street sweeping and trash collection fall on the same day due to the holiday schedule. If you have any questions, please contact the Public Works Agency at (714) 647-3380.

2018 Calendar: Continue reading→

A new Santa Ana homeless shelter with 200 beds was built in only 28 days

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, homeless, Ryan Ogulnick, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Mural honoring O.C. Judge David O. Carter

There are 28 stars painted on the walls of Santa Ana’s new homeless shelter, which has been named “The Link.” The stars represent the amazingly short time it took to open this new shelter – 28 days.

I toured the new shelter yesterday evening as the developer, Ryan Ogulnick, proudly showed me what his company, VDC, built so quickly, at a warehouse located at Warner and Redhill. Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana marks the anniversary of providing public defense to immigrants facing deportation

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

City of Santa Ana

Advisory: The City of Santa Ana Celebrates One Year of Providing Public Defense to Immigrants Facing Deportation as Part of the SAFE Network

SANTA ANA, CA – At a time when harsh immigration policies are disrupting our community, separating children and parents, and increasing detention and deportation, the City of Santa Ana celebrates the successes of the first year of work with the Vera Institute of Justice’s Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Network. The SAFE Network is a diverse group of a dozen cities and counties across America dedicated to providing publicly-funded universal representation for people facing deportation and to build evidence for its effectiveness. Continue reading→

Who will take over in Santa Ana when Mayor Pulido retires in two years?

Posted on by Posted in 2020 Elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Elections, Jose Solorio, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana, Todd Spitzer, Tony Rackauckas, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

I saw mayoral candidate Sal Tinajero speak at several campaign events leading up to the Nov. 6 General Election. Every time I heard him he was incredibly nasty – and his diatribes were at best filled with half-truths. The voters, needless to say, didn’t buy his act and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido beat him convincingly.

But Pulido is going to term out in two years. What will happen then? Continue reading→

Time to clean up and improve our Santa Ana parks!

Posted on by Posted in Art Pedroza, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Bathroom at Jerome Park

I was disappointed by the results of my school board campaign however when one door closes another one opens up. My good friend Ceci Iglesias was elected to the Santa Ana City Council, after withstanding withering attacks and she is going to appoint me as her representative on the Board of Santa Ana Parks and Recreation.

As my readers know I have been very frustrated by the conditions of our parks here in Santa Ana. They are not safe for our kids and families any more. Drugged out vagrants have taken over, the park bathrooms are disgusting, the lights often don’t work, etc.  Continue reading→

Santa Ana 2018 General Election updated results

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Advisory: CITY OF SANTA ANA 2018 GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION UNOFFICIAL RESULTS FOR MAYOR & COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CITY MEASURES

Santa Ana, CA – Based on unofficial results posted by the Orange County Registrar of Voters Office at 1:48 a.m., the following are the results thus far with an estimated 418,600 ballots left to count in the County of Orange and for various districts: Continue reading→

Mayor Pulido finally has a City Council majority he can work with

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, David Penaloza, Juan Villegas, Santa Ana 2 Comments

While voter turnout in yesterday’s General Election, here in Santa Ana, was very low the results worked out in favor of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who was easily reelected to what will be his last two-year term after he trounced his opponent, termed out City Councilman Sal Tinajero.

The successful City Council candidates, including Ceci Iglesias in Ward 6 and David Penaloza in Ward 2, are likely to ally with Pulido. Current City Council member Juan Villegas can be counted on as well. With Pulido that makes a four member City Council majority. Continue reading→

Would you hire the Santa Ana political candidates you are voting for?

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Angie Rosario Cano, Art Pedroza, Cecilia Aguinaga, Cecilia Iglesias, Civic Affairs, David Penaloza, Education, John Palacio, Jose Solorio, Juan Villegas, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Paul Gonzales, Phil Bacerra, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

As voters we sometimes fail to recognize that electing someone to represent us on any elective body, such as the Santa Ana City Council or the Santa Ana Unified School District’s Board of Education, is similar to hiring someone to work for us. We are entrusting these candidates to do right by the community.

But if you were hiring someone to work for you, would you consider the folks who are running for local office in Santa Ana this year? In that case what factors would you weigh in trying to determine who to support for local offices? Continue reading→

We need to save the green space at the Willowick golf course from needless development

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Garden Grove, Parks and Recreation, Planning, Santa Ana 2 Comments

I recently attended a Willowick Golf Course Visioning meeting, at Spurgeon Intermediate. It only took me a few minutes to realize it was a total farce.

The Willowick Golf Course site, located in the City of Santa Ana, California, is a greenfield site situated on
5th Street, adjacent to the Santa Ana River, at 3017 W 5th Street. The property, which consists of eight separate parcels totaling approximately 102 acres,  is owned by the City of Garden Grove. It currently operates as an 18-hole golf course, and is located two miles from the State Route 22 Freeway and four miles from the Interstate 5 Freeway. The site is adjacent to the Santa Ana River on the east, and the Pacific Electric (PE) Right-of-Way on the north, and abuts Garden Grove’s Buena Clinton neighborhood, a multifamily residentially zoned neighborhood with multiple two-story apartment buildings and the Willowick Royal Mobile Home Park. To the east across the Santa Ana River, is Spurgeon Intermediate School and Spurgeon Park. Directly to the south, is Cesar Chavez Campesino Park. Continue reading→

The O.C. Democratic Party is hellbent on distributing drug needles in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, Crime, Democratic Party, Drugs, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Orange County, Paul Gonzales, Politics, Public Safety, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Resolutions Committee of the Democratic Party of Orange County passed a resolution calling on Santa Ana to restore approval for the Orange County Needle Exchange Program (OCNEP) back in February of this year. And now the Democrats are backing only the Santa Ana City Council candidates who are promoting passing out drug needles in our community.

The City Council candidates who have said, on the record, that they support passing out drug needles in Santa Ana, include Roman Reyna, Ward 4; Nelida Mendoza, Ward 6 and Paul Gonzales, Ward 2. Of those Mendoza and Gonzales are endorsed by the Democratic Party of Orange County – even though there are other Democrats running for the wards in question. (They would have backed Reyna too but he screwed up so much while he was trying to carpetbag in Ward 4 that the Democrats had to take a hard pass). Continue reading→