Connect-to-Council’s Santa Ana Urban Leadership Forum 2010
Hello! If you have not yet registered for the Santa Ana Urban Leadership Forum 2010, there is still time!
When: Saturday, May 1, 2010, 9 am-2 pm, no cost to attendees (lunch included)
Where: Rancho Santiago College District Office, Board Room, located at 2323 N Broadway, Santa Ana, CA, 92706
Who: Neighborhood leaders and those wanting to make a difference Continue reading
Architectural Walking Tour and OC Courthouse Downtown Architectural Walking Tour
Join us for an information-filled tour of historic downtown Santa Ana and learn more about our city. These tours coincide with our Open House events (noon to 4:00 pm) and are also a perfect prelude to the “first Saturday” arts openings at the downtown Artist Village on the same evenings.
Docents will lead small groups to view the exteriors of many of Santa Ana’s most interesting old buildings, including the Old Orange County Courthouse, the Masonic Temple Building, old City Hall, the Spurgeon Building, and the Santora Building. More info, please visit http://santaanahistory.com/events/wtour/walkingpictures1.html. Continue reading
It figures. Supervisor Janet Nguyen, who Chairs the Orange County Board of Supervisors, is opposing the use of social media to enhance the way the County agencies communicate with the public, according to the Voice of O.C.
Nguyen has a lot of beefs about social media, including the sentiment that “Considering the intensity of political blogs in Orange County, Nguyen said county staff could be spending a ton of time monitoring blog comments.”
They already are doing so Chairman Janet! Take a look at the graphic above. Your henchmen are on our Orange Juice blog ALL DAY LONG!
Continue reading
I have gotten a hold of an email from the Santa Ana Police Department indicating that they are planning a major crackdown on Santa Ana’s Easter Cruisers. The note appears below in its entirety.
The crackdown includes numerous street and lane closures and over 100 police officers!
I don’t get it. Our city is flat broke. How is the SAPD paying for this and why are they doing this?
And why is the O.C. Register railing against the Easter cruising? Here is what they reported, “Several law enforcement agencies, including the Santa Ana Police Department and the California Highway Patrol, are hoping to stop what has become an unwanted tradition, as visiting family members and revelers hit the streets.”
Needless to say, the Neighborhood Association busy-bodies and the Usual Suspects are up in arms over the Easter cruising.
Here is the actual email from the SAPD explaining what they intend to do to stop the Easter Cruisers: Continue reading
This just in, from Santa Ana Councilman Sal Tinajero:
You are invited to a fundraising reception in honor of Sal Tinajero
With Special Guest and Master of Ceremony Actor Tony Plana, the Co-Founder East LA Classic Theatre, Leading Role in ABC’s Ugly Betty.
When: Tuesday, April 27 2010 Continue reading
UPDATE: Good news from the Ham Radio class instructor Gordon West. He is taking $30.00 off the cost of materials for our class which basically reduces the cost of materials by half. He has already offered to teach the class for free as well. He is hoping this will help several of you in these trying times. If you are interested in the class it starts Saturday, May 22nd and ends the next day, Sunday the 23rd. To reserve a spot and to receive the course materials please contact Gordon West at (714) 549-5000 or just click reply to this email. Thanks.
The City of Santa Ana is offerering FREE ham radio training to all those who have taken their CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) class, which is offered by the Santa Ana Fire Department and the Santa Ana Police Department.
Here is the training information sent by the City’s Emergency Manager: Continue reading
Sparky already has his dog license!
“Santa Ana Animal Services will waive late fees for dog licenses during a temporary amnesty program through May 15. The city charges $24 annually to license a spayed or neutered dog, $100 for an unfixed dog; late fees are $41,” according to the O.C. Register.
I emailed Santa Ana Police Chief on March 1, to inform him about the Orange County dog license amnesty, which we reported about this week.
I have also asked the Chief to consider permanent lower dog license fees. We wrote about that subject here in February, at this link. What I would like to see in particular is discounts for households with more than one dog; lower late fees; and lower fees for unfixed dogs. Currently we charge more for dog licenses than the City of Irvine does! Continue reading
The Minutemen showed up to protest today at the Mexican Consultate’s office in Santa Ana, at 7 a.m. They were led by Lupe Moreno, a Republican activist who lives in Santa Ana.
In the video above, Moreno resorted to calling the mother of Naui Huitzilopochtli, the videographer, a “puta,” or whore. He then rightfully wonders what sort of Christian Moreno is.
Moreno is known for her right-wing politics and supposed evangelical Christian values. Continue reading
The Minutemen are in an uproar because the City of Santa Ana decided to hold this year’s Fiestas Patrias event on September 11. They are protesting tomorrow, March 31, at the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana , from 7am to 9am. The Consulate is located at 828 North Broadway, in downtown Santa Ana.
Counter-protesters will be there as well.
Normally the Fiestas Patrias event is held around the middle of September, but in order to hold the event on a weekend, the City of Santa Ana opted to start the event on Sep. 11, which of course coincides with the terrorist attack our nation suffered when members of Al-Qaeda destroyed the Trade Towers in New York. Over 300 Mexican nationals died in that event. The Minutemen either don’t know that or they don’t care. Continue reading
Local attorney and mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua is pictured on the left, holding the United Farm Workers flag. The man in the middle, on the microphone, is Councilman Vincent Sarmiento. Solorio is pictured on the right. Next to him is Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. Picture courtesy of Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s office.
Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s office sent us a few pictures taken at last Saturday’s Cesar Chavez celebration, at Jerome Park, in Santa Ana. Reportedly over three hundred Santa Ana residents showed up to the festivities.
Below are additional pictures. You can also see the pictures I took, as the event was being set up, at this link. Continue reading
I didn’t like the idea of converting the Santa Ana Police Department’s (SAPD) police dog training center into a dog park for Santa Ana residents until I spoke today to a former City of Santa Ana employee, who shared with me the history of this beautiful, fenced in field.
According to my friend, the area used to be a public park, until the SAPD convinced the City Council to let them have it. They promised at the time to share the field with the public. However, you can see in the pictures above that the field is gated and locked.
I have never seen the police using the field. My friend says they hardly ever use it. And he says that the Chief of Police, Paul Walters, often brings his own dogs to the field on Saturday mornings. The field is, essentially, a private dog park for Chief Walters. Continue reading
The SaCReD Community Day of Action, which was held this Saturday at Garfield Elementary School, was marred when a 16-year old on a bicyle was struck by a car, according to the OC Weekly.
I took this photo last May, in downtown Santa Ana
The accident happened in Ward 2, which is represented by Councilwoman Michele Martinez, not far from the proposed Transit District.
Pedestrian accidents are common in Santa Ana. I saw one last year when I was walking in the downtown area. A woman who looked like a transient was struck by a pickup truck. It was as awful as it sounds.
The City of Santa Ana actually has a City Commission devoted to traffic issues, called the Environmental & Transportation Advisory Committee, or ETAC. Here are the current members of that Commission, according to the Santa Ana City Clerk’s web page: Continue reading
Dozens of Americorps volunteers descended on Santa Ana’s Jerome Park yesterday morning, to set up the festivities for the Cesar Chavez Day celebration organized by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, Santa Ana Councilmember Vincent Sarmiento , SOLEVAR Executive Director Seferino Garcia , and several community leaders.
It was terribly windy, but the vendors who were setting up the canopies over the exibit tables compensated by adding more support to the temporary structures.
Santa Ana residents were already showing up in droves to check out the books on display and the wonderful community garden run by the folks at the Grain Project. Continue reading
The Indo-Chinese Muslim Association, in partnership with the Cambodian Family and Team Property Management, will be hosting a U.S. Census Festival today, from 12 noon to 4 pm, at Biship Manor, located at 1001 E. Grant St., in Santa Ana.
There will be games, raffles and prizes. Bring your family and friends to enjoy lots of fun activities and learn more about the U.S. Census.
Bring your Census form for any help in filling it out.
Half of Councilman David Benavides’ Commission appointees live in Ward 3. He represents Ward 4.
David Benavides is one of three Santa Ana Council members up for re-election this November. He represents Ward 4, which is highlighted in red in the Ward Map shown above. I found it shocking that he appointed Julie Stroud to the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission, given her longstanding animus for immigrants, so I thought I would review who else he has appointed to our City Commissions.
