Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Civic Affairs

SAPD set to impound immigrants’ cars this Friday, near Rosita Park

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, immigration, Latinos, Public Safety, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Tell your friends not to drive by Rosita Park on Friday night!

“Officers may stop any vehicle at the checkpoint, which will be in the area of 1000 N. Newhope St., near Rosita Park. The checkpoint stops will begin at 7:30 p.m. and are scheduled to go until 1 a.m,” according to the O.C. Register.

If you think that these checkpoints are about stopping drunks, you are wrong.  Too often these tactics are used to seize cars drive by immigrants and others who are unlicensed drivers.

To do this in Santa Ana, right now, while the U.S. Census is trying to conduct its 2010 Census, is ridiculous!

According to an O.C. Register Watchdog report, 79% of those arrested at SAPD DUI checkpoints are Latinos.  And get this – the SAPD impounds, on average, 4.5 cars for every drunk driver they catch! Continue reading→

Santa Ana is the fourth most expensive city in the O.C. to do business in

Posted on by Posted in Business, Civic Affairs, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana 1 Comment

In 2008, Santa Ana was found to be the third most expensive Orange County cities to do business in, “according to the 14th annual Cost of Doing Business Survey from the Rose Institute of State & Local Government at Claremont McKenna College and Kosmont Companies in Los Angeles,” as published in the O.C. Register.

In 2009, the same study found that Santa Ana was the fourth most expensive city in Orange County, to do business in.  Click here to read that article in the O.C. Register.

Santa Ana also has some of the highest property taxes in the O.C. due to the passage of numerous SAUSD and Rancho Santiago Community College District bond measures.  A large chunk of the college bond was used to build a training academy for O.C. Sheriffs that we just didn’t need – our County is ringed by similar academies that are easily within thirty minutes of Orange County.

Isn’t it interesting that some of the BEST cities in Orange County charge the LEAST for business licenses?  Irvine, Tustin, Yorba Linda and Costa Mesa all rank amongst the cities with the LOWEST business costs.  Even Newport Beach has a much lower cost than Santa Ana.  Continue reading→

The City of Irvine charges less for dog licenses than the City of Santa Ana does

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Pets, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Working Families 2 Comments

Did you know that the wealthy City of Irvine charges less for a dog license than the City of Santa Ana?

Santa Ana charges $24 for a dog license.  Irvine charges only $20 – and if you buy a three year license it costs only $50.  That comes to $16.67 a year – about 30% less than what Santa Ana charges.  And Santa Ana does NOT offer a multi-year discount, or a multi-dog discount.

If your dog is not spayed or neutered, Irvine charges $50 a year for a dog license.  In Santa Ana you pay double that. That’s right – the City of Santa Ana charges $100 per year for an unadulterated dog.  Even the City of Newport Beach charges only $48 for an unadulterated dog license!

I have been told by a city employee at Santa Ana’s dog license department that we have over 11,000 licensed dogs in town and perhaps double that number are unlicensed.  This is a public health issue as the license process involves assuring that the dogs have their vaccinations.

For comparisons sake, the City of Costa Mesa charges only $20 for a dog license, or $10 for a license for a dog that is spayed or neutered.  The City of Mission Viejo charges the same rates as Irvine. Continue reading→

Dog parks in Irvine and Costa Mesa are a huge success!

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Costa Mesa, irvine, Pets, Santa Ana Leave a comment

I visited Costa Mesa’s Bark Park on Saturday, this weekend, and also visited the Irvine Central Bark Park. My goal was to find out how these facilities work, and whether or not folks are using them. As my readers know, I am proposed turning the little-used Lawn Bolwing Center, in Santa Ana’s Santiago Park, into our own dog park.

I found that the two parks had some similarities and a few differences.

Both parks were hopping with dogs and their owners.  Just as I figured, the dog park concept is HUGE.  There is a lot of demand.  I spoke to dog owners at both parks.  They all indicated that they use the facility regularly.  Some of them come there daily!  I also asked all of them if they ever heard of lawn bowling.  Only one retired fellow had ever heard of it, out of some forty people that I spoke to.

Costa Mesa’s park is run by a community non-profit organization. It opened in 1994.  Here is the rundown from their website: Continue reading→

2010 U.S. Census jobs now available

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, california, Civic Affairs, Federal Government, Literature, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

logo_census

Hundreds of thousands are needed for temporary 2010 Census Jobs

The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting temporary, part-time census takers for the 2010 Census. These short-term jobs offer good pay, flexible hours, paid training, and reimbursement for authorized work-related expenses, such as mileage incurred while conducting census work. Best of all, census takers work right in their own communities.

Census taker jobs are excellent for people who want to work part-time, those who are between jobs, or just about anyone who wants to earn extra money while performing an important service for their community.

Call 1-866-861-2010 now, testing is going on at many locations. The Census forms will be in the mail soon and census day is April 1st.  Click here for more info.

Download the practice test, as a good score is important considering the number of applicants. Continue reading→

City of Santa Ana agrees to clean up graffiti at Santiago Park

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

I recieved an email response today from Gerardo Mouet, the Director of Parks and Recreation in Santa Ana, regarding my complaint about the explosion of graffiti at Santiago Park.

Here is an excerpt from Mouet’s email:

Thank you for your email. I am glad the Parks and Recreation staff were able to clear the brush to help deter the lewd conduct. I will direct staff to coordinate with the Public Works Agency, who is responsible for graffiti removal, and remove the graffiti at Santiago Park as soon as possible. Also, staff will work on solving the issue of the pools of water you point out.

Thank you Mr. Mouet!  Continue reading→

Is it time for a dog park in the City of Santa Ana?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Pets, Santa Ana 40 Comments

Santa Ana Dog Park

Wouldn’t the Santa Ana Lawn Bowling Center make a nice Dog Park?


Did you know that the City of Santa Ana has no dog parks?  I called today and spoke with a lady at the City of Santa Ana’s dog license department.  She was very helpful! 

She said that we have 11,835 dogs currently licensed in our city.  And she figures there might be even more dogs that are currently unlicensed.  While I have questioned the cost of our licenses in the past, they do accomplish a couple of positive goals, in that they help to assure that dogs are properly vaccinated – and that they are fixed.

The lady at the dog license department also told me that the only dog park in the area is in Costa Mesa – and they don’t like it when out of town residents bring their dogs to their park, as it is hard to corroborate that the dogs are fixed and vaccinated.

I have an idea for a dog park, in Santa Ana, at NO COST to our city!  The Lawn Bowling center, at Santiago Park, is only used four times a week.  Gerardo Mouet, the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Director, verified this today in an email I received.  “The Lawn Bowlers practice on the bowling area on Tuesdays and Thursdays and play on the weekends.” Continue reading→

Can a non-Latino become the next Mayor of Santa Ana?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana 6 Comments

Jim Walker

Could Jim Walker become Santa Ana’s next Mayor?

When Santa Ana community activist Jim Walker ran against Santa Ana Councilman Vince Sarmiento, in 2008, he did so with very little money. But Walker ended up with over 37% of the vote, according to Smart Voter.

In 2006, Thomas Gordon ran against Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, with zero money, and he got over 24% of the vote, according to Smart Voter.

Now Pulido is being challenged by Al Amezcua, a local lawyer who has had some electoral success, as a past member of the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Trustees. Both of these men are well known and can raise money. But will they split the Latino vote and allow a non-Latino to become the next Mayor of Santa Ana?

In 2008, the Latino vote split scenario almost happened when Pulido was challenged by Councilwoman Michele Martinez.  Pulido won with only 55% of the vote.  Martinez got over 29% of the vote.  Community activist George Collins got almost 8,000 votes and ended up with just under 14% of the vote. Continue reading→

SAPD working hard to stop lewd conduct at Santa Ana’s Santiago Park

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Crime, Public Safety, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Another man lurking at Santiago Park

Nine of these guys were arrested by the SAPD this week at Santiago Park

I met today with Santa Ana Chief of Police Paul Walters and two of his police officers, from the SAPD.  One of them, Hank Couisine, is a Special Investigator.  The other works in Vice Squad. 

We met to discuss the ongoing problems at Santa Ana’s Santiago Park with regard to men who go there to lurk and to engage in lewd acts.

My recent post about this situation triggered a lot of action at Santa Ana’s City Hall.  Walters asked the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Department to clean up the brush at the park, to give these creeps less places to hide.  They did so once and are planning another clean-up soon.

Walters also sent in the troops.  In fact they arrested nine men just yesterday, just after dusk!  They employed decoys very effectively.  We wrote about that tactic previously as well.  Click here to read that post.

Walters noted that his department uses software to collect crime data and then they focus their crimefighting areas on hot spots in the city.  Santiago Park is the only park with substantial lewd conduct problems. Continue reading→

City of Santa Ana plans a high-rise district near the train station

Posted on by Posted in Business, Civic Affairs, Miguel Pulido, Real Estate, Redevelopment, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Santa Ana Transit Zone


There are big changes planned for the City of Santa Ana.  City officials recently debuted their plans for the “Transit Zone” which was formerly called the Renaissance Plan area.

“The new development rules at the heart of the city’s proposal would clear the way for more than 4,000 new homes and some 387,000 new square feet of shops and eateries. It would create a new high-rise district near the train station, with towers as tall as 25 stories,” according to the O.C. Register.

Guy Ball, a Santa Ana historian, commented about this plan thusly, on the Register’s website: Continue reading→

2010 U.S. Census bus tour coming to Anaheim’s Little Arabia on Feb. 4

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Arab Americans, Civic Affairs, Federal Government Leave a comment

Yalla Count

The 2010 Census Bus Tour is coming to Anaheim’s “Little Arabia” this week, on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m., at the Victory Restaurant and Bakery, located at 630 S. Brookhurst St.  All are invited!

The purpose of the bus tour is to encourage community members to fill their 2010 Census forms, but in this case you will also be able to help yourself to 99 cent Falafels and Shawerna sandwiches.  Delicious! Continue reading→

The County of Orange appears to be negotiating to move into One Broadway Plaza

Posted on by Posted in Business, Civic Affairs, Development, Janet Nguyen, Neighborhood Associations, Orange County, Real Estate, Redevelopment, Santa Ana 8 Comments

One Broadway Plaza

One Broadway Plaza has surfaced on today’s County agenda under a supplemental portion. It appears the County of Orange is negotiating (or considering such) with developer Mike Harrah regarding One Broadway Plaza, or OBP. 

The City of Santa Ana put OBP on the ballot a few years ago after residents complained about what was supposed to be the biggest office tower in Orange County, at 500 feet, going up right in our downtown area.  The voters passed the measure, but the tower was never built.

OBP is supposed to be built 4 blocks west of French Park amid the several charter schools around Tenth and Broadway.  The French Park Neighborhood remains deeply concerned about traffic and the lack of requirements on the project to mitigate such.

Local resident and community activist Jeff DIckman is asking residents to “consider contacting your Supervisor, in this case Janet Nguyen of the First District (or all if you like), to express your opinion.”  She can be emailed: janet.nguyen@ocgov.com.  Nguyen is also the Chairman of the Board. Continue reading→

Comm Link meeting on Thursday regarding Santa Ana code enforcement

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

 Com LinkLogo

Santa Ana’s Communication Linkage Forum strives to promote positive leadership, community participation, unity and pride in all neighborhoods by improving the quality of life in Santa Ana “block-by-block”.

The next Comm Link General Meeting is on Thursday, January 28, from 6:30-8:30 pm. 

AGENDA:

CODE ENFORCEMENT

Guest Speaker: Alvaro Nuñez, Code Enforcement Coordinator & Senior Inspector Continue reading→

City of Santa Ana offers free business seminar on Jan. 28

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

Santa ana 100 days

Press Release, For Immediate Release

Santa Ana Offers Action Plan to Help Businesses Cope With Economy, Changing Markets

SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 19, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The City of Santa Ana wants to make sure new and existing businesses not only survive during this tough economy, but thrive and prosper.

In an unprecedented/pioneering two-hour seminar, the city and its partners will provide Santa Ana businesses the strategies and resources to remain competitive and succeed in a tough business environment.

Advice in these demanding times is easy to come by, but the City of Santa Ana and facilitator OPIS Network have developed a program that provides not only a blueprint for success but the tools to implement these business-changing steps. Continue reading→

Why do so many solitary men lurk at Santa Ana’s Santiago Park?

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Crime, homeless, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Youth Activities 84 Comments

Men lurking at Santiago Park

In a city with a terrible lack of park space, Santiago Park is a veritable oasis.  The park is located in north Santa Ana, within easy walking distance of the MainPlace Mall.  The new CityPlace shopping center is located right across the street.

I like to walk my dog there, along the trail on the north side of the park.  I was doing that just yesterday, in the morning, when we came across two men who were loitering on either side of the trail.  As I passed them I turned around and took a picture of them with my Blackberry phone.  Then I called the Santa Ana Police Department.

You can see the picture of the two men above.  I could not discern what they were up to.  They were just lurking there.  Below, in the riverbed, another guy was loitering on a bike.  And it got worse. Continue reading→