Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Civic Affairs

The Santa Ana City Council has canceled all public hearings regarding Ward redistricting

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

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community: Notice to Residents: Cancellation of Public Hearing to Consider Ward Re-Boundaries

The Santa Ana City Council has canceled the Public Hearings to consider modifying the Ward boundaries. The Hearings were originally scheduled for May 1, May 3, May 15, May 19 and June 5, 2018.

The purpose of these Hearings was to allow interested persons to provide input on ward boundaries, community of interest and comment on proposed draft maps before the City Council for consideration. The City Council was unable to hold a formal public hearing on May 3, 2018 due to lack of quorum and at the May 15, 2018 City Council Meeting, the Clerk of the Council announced that the process was being suspended due to impending litigation. Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana has won the best tasting municipal water award again

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

City of Santa Ana

Community: Santa Ana Celebrates Water Awareness Month With Its Award Winning Water

Santa Ana’s Water Receives Encore As Nation’s Best Tasting On Tap

(Santa Ana, CA) May 8, 2018 —The City of Santa Ana announced today it won the coveted honor of producing the best tasting and highest quality tap water in the nation. Santa Ana received the gold medal in the “Best Municipal Water” category at the 28th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting. the largest and longest running competition in the world dedicated to preserving and protecting drinking water.

“Winning the nation’s top award in our category is phenomenal. Winning the award four times attests to the high standards we set for our tap water and the dedication of our certified specialists who are committed to serving our customers,” says Nabil Saba, Water Resources Manager, City of Santa Ana. Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana will reduce lanes on a section of N. Bristol Street starting on May 15

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, public works, Santa Ana, Traffic Leave a comment

N. Bristol St. Lane Assignments for 30 days

City of Santa Ana

Community: Bristol Street Lane Reductions between 17th and Washington to start May 15th

Starting Tuesday, May 15, there will be major improvements made on N. Bristol Street, including a new storm drain, water mains, sewer mains, medians, hardscape, sidewalks, curbs, paving, striping, and signage. To accommodate the storm drain construction, both travel directions will be shifted to the east side of Bristol: Continue reading→

Our lame City Council majority has driven Santa Ana to the edge of bankruptcy

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

 

The Santa Ana City Council Majority

Still mad about the cancellation of this year’s Santa Ana Cinco de Mayo event? Well guess what? It looks like that is the least of our worries. Apparently the Santa Ana City Council majority has driven our city to the brink of bankruptcy, according to the Voice of OC.

The Voice of OC quoted Deputy City Manager Robert Cortez about the situation. He said “the current situation is not sustainable.” However Cortez makes a whopping $294,881.41 in pay and benefits, according to Transparent California.  The median annual Chief Executive Officer salary in Los Angeles, CA is $192,976, as of April 29, 2018, according to payscale.com. Cortez is making more than most CEOs and he is just the Deputy City Manager! Perhaps that is part of the problem in Santa Ana?

But that’s not all. Our current City Council majority also made all these financial mistakes in the past few years: Continue reading→

Santa Ana announces three more public hearings regarding possible changes to our ward boundaries

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

City of Santa Ana

Community: Notice To Residents: Schedule of Public Hearings To Consider Amending City Ward Boundaries

The City of Santa Ana encourages the public to participate in the decision-making process. The following notice is sent to ensure that our community stays informed of a matter that may be important to you.

The City Council will hold the final three (3) Public Hearings to consider modifying the Ward boundaries to comply with both the Federal and California law, including the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana is focusing on building safety this month

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Housing, Planning, Real Estate, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: May is Building Safety Month

SANTA ANA, CA – To help raise awareness of building safety, the City of Santa Ana proudly celebrates “Building Safety Month” during May. Building Safety Month is a public safety awareness campaign to help individuals, families and businesses understand what it takes to create safe, resilient, affordable and energy-efficient homes and buildings. This year’s theme is: Building Codes Save Lives. Additional information available at: http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/pba/buildingsafety/BuildingSafetyMonth.asp Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council will hold public hearings regarding their plan to change our ward maps

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: NOTICE TO RESIDENTS: SCHEDULE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS TO CONSIDER WARD RE-BOUNDARY

The Santa Ana City Council will hold a series of Public Hearings to consider modifying the Ward boundaries to comply with both the Federal and California law, including the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA).

The Ward boundaries were last modified in January of 2012. Since then, the City received correspondence asserting that the City’s current at-large electoral system, whereby council members are elected by all of the city electors, violates the CVRA because it allegedly does not allow Asians (a protected class) to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of Santa Ana’s council elections. Following receipt of this correspondence, the City Council decided to place a charter amendment on the November 6, 2018 General Municipal Election so that the electors of the City can decide whether to change the method of electing council members to a by-ward system where each council member is required to reside in the ward he or she represents and is elected solely by the electors of that ward. The City Council also decided to consider changing the Ward boundaries to ensure that they are consistent with Federal and State law, including the CVRA. This re-boundary process will consist of a number of public hearings to allow interested persons to give input on ward boundaries. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority will try to change our ward maps before they term out

Posted on by Posted in Ballot Measures, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The Santa Ana City Council majority

The Santa Ana City Council majority has voted to start drawing up plans to place a measure on the November ballot to change our City Council elections to a ward-specific model.

But that’s not all. Most of the Santa Ana City Council majority is going to term out in November. But now they want to change our ward maps before they leave City Hall. The last time they did this Councilman Sal Tinajero made sure to remove Asian voters from his Ward. What shenanigans will they be up to this time? Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council decides to sue the County and several cities over the homeless issue

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Courts, Housing, Huntington Beach, irvine, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Santa Ana Council Calls for Legal Action on Homelessness. City to Sue County of Orange, Irvine, Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach

SANTA ANA, CA – On Tuesday night, Santa Ana City Council directed the City’s legal counsel to move forward with a lawsuit against the County of Orange and the cities of Irvine, Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach for their opposition to sheltering the homeless on available County land. A County plan to locate three temporary homeless shelters in each homeless services region of the County had been adopted earlier in March but was subsequently rescinded by the County Board of Supervisors following opposition from those cities. The City’s legal action seeks to compel the parties to take action rather than merely say “no” to being part of the solution. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council’s latest attempt to extend their term limits got punked again

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Ballot Measures, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Jose Solorio, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

The Santa Ana City Council Majority

The Santa Ana City Council Majority – which now includes Council Members David Benavides, Jose Solorio, Vince Sarmiento and Sal Tinajero, tried once again yesterday to illegally extend their term limits by trying to place a last-minute district election measure on the June ballot.

They were previously punked by Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido when he refused to sign off on their vote to place the measure on the June ballot. A judge recently forced Pulido to finally sign those papers but the June election ballot submission deadline had already expired.  Continue reading→

The O.C. armory homeless shelter program has been extended for another 90 days

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Jerry Brown, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community: Governor Brown Acts to Extend Armory Shelter Program in Orange County

SANTA ANA, CA – Last week, the City of Santa Ana sent a letter requesting that the California National Guard consider the approval of an extension of the Orange County Cold Weather Armory Emergency Shelter Program for at least 90 days past the scheduled April 15, 2018 closure. This was followed up this week by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (District 65) and Assemblymember Tom Daly (District 69) requesting support from the Governor to make this request a reality.

“Now is not the time to turn our backs on some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. “I truly appreciate the Governor’s fast response to this request,” said Assemblymember Tom Daly. Continue reading→

An early look at this November’s Santa Ana City Council candidates

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, David Penaloza, Irma Macias, Laura Kanter, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Mirna Velasquez, Phil Bacerra, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Sandra Pena, Santa Ana 2 Comments

It looks like the Santa Ana City Council majority will not be able to put a district election measure on the June ballot after all. A judge ruled today that Mayor Miguel Pulido should have signed their paperwork submitting the district election measure to the O.C. Voter Registrar. But it is too late for that measure to make it to the June ballot, according to the O.C. Register.

What this means is that Council Members Michele Martinez, David Benavides and Sal Tinajero are going to term out this November. They will have to be replaced in the November election.

Here are the Santa Ana City Council candidates that I am aware of at the moment: Continue reading→

Santa Ana public community budget meetings announced

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

City of Santa Ana

Community: Community Meetings on City Budget – Presentaciónes para la Comunidad sobre el Presupesto de la Ciudad

The community is invited to participate in the upcoming Community Budget Meetings:

• Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at the Santa Ana Bowling Club
(2615 Valencia St.) at 7:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at Madison Elementary School
(1124 E. Hobart St.) at 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, April 12, 2018 at Adams Elementary School
(2130 S. Raitt St.) at 6:00 p.m.
• Thursday. April 26, 2108 at the Santa Ana Police Dept.
Community Room (60 Civic Center Plaza) at 7:00 p.m. Continue reading→

What we learned during this weekend’s homeless count in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Juan Villegas, Santa Ana 1 Comment

https://www.facebook.com/CouncilwomanMartinez/videos/10155785763632772/

IMPORTANT statistics regarding the homeless count over the weekend

By: Santa Ana City Councilman Juan Villegas

Citywide Key Findings:

  • Total Unsheltered Count: 1,030 people.
  • 564 Additional Homeless in Santa Ana since the January 2017 PIT (466 people)
  • 81.8% are chronically homeless (one year or more)
  • 52% reported their last permanent residence was outside the City of Santa Ana
  • Compared to the last PIT Count, we have more unsheltered women

Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana wants your help to count the homeless on Saturday at 4 a.m.

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Santa Ana 1 Comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Homeless Count Volunteer Opportunity Tomorrow: Are you an early riser?

The City of Santa Ana is executing a Point-in-Time Count of the homeless population across the City of Santa Ana tomorrow morning. As you know, the City it working to address homelessness both here and across the County. A count of the homeless in our community is a part of that effort. Continue reading→