Please Join State Assemblyman Jose Solorio For an Early Cinco de Mayo “Fresh Taco” Lunch in Support of our Solorio Scholars Program, on Friday, May 4, from 12 pm – 1:30 pm, @ Santa Ana Police Officers Association Hall, located at 1607 N. Sycamore St., in Santa Ana.
I got an email this week from a fellow named Peter Yang. He is a “broke college student” over at Santa Ana College. He and a friend got tired of getting ripped off by college bookstores and they have started a website where students can buy and sell their used college textbooks. Here’s how Yang describes the rip-off process of buying and selling your books at most colleges:
The business of buying and selling college textbooks has always been a pain for college students. With student loans being taken out, to tuition prices getting raised each year, the burden of not having enough money for books is a headache for many people. Students who buy their college textbooks from their school’s bookstore are well aware of the ridiculous prices that they need to pay for certain books. Then by the end of the semester, these students who purchased expensive textbooks from the bookstores sell it back to their bookstore for a third of the price that they paid for these books. After selling it back to the bookstores, the bookstores mark the price back up by double.
Continue reading
On Friday, April 27, 2012, at approximately 3:20 p.m. a Santa Ana High School student was the victim of a shooting that took place off campus after school last Friday, at 914 W. Walnut Street, which is very close to the campus as you can see in the picture above.
The “shooting took place about 3 p.m. when a 10th-grader and a friend were walking home from Santa Ana High School westbound on Walnut Street near Flower Street, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said,” according to the O.C. Register.
After the suspect fired a single shot, the victim ran, collapsing in an alley behind Walnut Street, the school’s principal, Julie Infante, said, according to NBC News. The shooter — described as a Latino male aged 16 to 17 and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt — fired a single shot before running off, police said, according to Fox News. Continue reading
Art Pedroza for the Orange County Board of Education, Area One
PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2012
Contact: Art Pedroza, 714-606-7622, Website: www.votepedroza.com
The 2012 O.C. Dept. of Education, Area One, Social Media Report Card
SANTA ANA – Public school officials often talk about the need to connect with parents, but do our local public school districts really walk the walk, when it comes to communicating with parents?
Art Pedroza, a candidate for the Orange County Board of Education, Area One, noticed in 2010 that the Santa Ana Unified School District’s website did not include a common, and popular, tool for instantly translating their site to other languages. The district corrected that oversight once Pedroza brought up the issue during his campaign in 2010 for the SAUSD School Board. Continue reading
On Wednesday, April 25, Everest College Santa Ana will be holding a blood drive at Everest College, located at 500 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Room 305 ~ 3rd Floor, in Santa Ana.
Donation Types: Double Red Cell Donations, Blood
The 36th Annual VSA Festival will be held at the Westfield MainPlace Mall on April 21, from 11 am to 4 pm. VSA California of Orange County provides arts, education, and cultural opportunities by, with, and for people with disabilities, making the arts accessible to people of all abilities. Click here to download the event flier.
The annual VSA Festival is held each spring to culminate year-round, school and community based arts program efforts, including hands-on workshops, demonstrations, performances, and a visual art exhibit, serving all ages and all disabilities. Opening ceremonies showcase outstanding performers and provide an overview of the day’s activities. Individuals and organizations that have sponsored and supported the VSA programs are acknowledged. Continue reading
For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Tony Dodero, tdodero@thinktogether.org, O – 714-543-8807 Ext. 8119, M – 949-922-8726
THINK Together and American Red Cross Partner to train parents of preschool age children in first aid, CPR and disaster preparedness
About 120 parents are expected to attend the training session at the nonprofit extended-learning provider’s Orange County Region office in Santa Ana.
April 12, 12, Santa Ana, Calif. — This Saturday April 14, about 120 parents from THINK Together’s Early Literacy Program will be trained by AmeriCorps members of the American Red Cross to be better prepared for potentially life-saving emergencies. Continue reading
Op Ed: CALIFORNIA LAWSUIT EXPOSES ORANGE COUNTY FINANCIAL CRISIS
By: Chriss W. Street
The ballooning Orange County financial crisis continued to spiral down as the State of California filed a law suit to force return of $73.5 million of property tax revenue the County skimmed from local schools and community colleges last November. It seemed bazaar at the time that the supposed “Most Conservative County in America” would increase spending by $145.8 million, then grab the school’s cash and cancel planned layoffs of 490 union workers.
The new lawsuit has caused increased scrutiny of other dicey actions by the County. The biggest shock came from the recently released Orange County 2010-11 Audited Financial Report, which discloses the County is short $30,146,000 in Reserves and out of accounting compliance: Continue reading
Community: DIGITIZING YOURSELF INTO THE INTERNET COMMUNITY
SANTA ANA, CA (April 3, 2012) – The Santa Ana Library has been awarded a grant by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. The grant, entitled “Digitizing Yourself into the Internet Community,” will enable the library to expand its current basic computer classes with brand new courses taught by experts. These classes will help Santa Ana residents build the skills necessary to participate fully in the digital world. Continue reading
I reported on Thursday about O.C. Board of Education, Area One, candidate Eleazar Elizondo’s comments to an OC Weekly reporter about how teaching adults is not teaching. Now that OC Weekly article has been published and his comments are as ridiculous as the reporter indicated when she called me. But even worse for Elizondo, the true story about how he arrived at the awful ballot designation of “Public Affairs Consultant” has now been revealed.
I recall that Elizondo, when I ran into him on the last day of the filing period, at the Orange County Voter Registrar, desperately called an attorney, on his cell phone, and asked the unknown lawyer to be his campaign attorney. I wondered then why in the world he needed a campaign attorney. Well, now we know. Continue reading
I just got off the phone with a reporter from the OC Weekly. She called to tell me that one of my opponents, Eleazar Elizondo, a liberal Democrat who once worked for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, doesn’t think I should be able to call myself a teacher because I work in Adult Education, at Cerritos Community College. Well that is interesting – apparently Elizondo is not aware that the Orange County Department of Education is heavily involved in Career Technical Education for adults!
Here is what the O.C. Department of Education has to say about this on their website: Continue reading
Community: STATE OF CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF GRANTS AND SERVICES AWARDS THE CITY $5 MILLION FOR NEW JOINT USE PARK SITE
City’s Partnership with the Santa Ana Unified School District Played Pivotal Role in Receiving the Highest Grant Amount an Agency Can Receive
SANTA ANA, CA (March 29, 2012) – To address the need for more open space in the community, the City of Santa Ana has aggressively been seeking areas of opportunities to address this challenge. The City of Santa Ana and the Santa Ana Unified School District have been working cooperatively to provide recreational opportunities for the community through a Joint Use of City and School District properties. After a year of planning, an application to be considered to receive a Proposition 84 grant was submitted. The City was recently notified it was awarded the grant by the State of California Office of Grants and Local Services. The $5 million dollar grant was designated to develop a 2.7-acre park on the Roosevelt Elementary School site, located at 501 S. Halladay Street. Continue reading
Calcas is hosting the Orange County Dream Team’s 4th Annual Loteria Fundraiser, this Friday night, March 30th, from 6:30-8:30pm. They are asking for a $10 Donation.
Location: Calacas, Inc., located at 324 W. 4th St. #B, in Santa Ana.
Prizes • Snacks • Beverages Continue reading
Are you ready for a free MMA-inspired clinic, right here in Santa Ana?
Fighting for Fitness is an Orange County-based 501c(3) non-profit organization which is hosting a free MMA-inspired fitness clinic for children ages seven to 17 at Roosevelt Elementary School in Santa Ana. The event is open to the public and takes place Sunday, March 25. Registration is 11-12 p.m., clinic 12-1 p.m., and refreshments 1-2 p.m.
What a great way to learn more about childhood obesity and ways to prevent it! Continue reading
For Immediate Release: March 16, 2012
For More Information Contact: Carol Chamberlain – office: (916) 319-2069, mobile: (916) 804-5355
Comprehensive California High School Drop Out Audit Findings Now Available
Audit, Conducted at Request of Latino Legislative Caucus, Shows Nearly 95,000 Students of the Class of 2010 Dropped Out. Approximately 50,000 of Those Students Were Latinos.
SACRAMENTO – At the request of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, the California State Auditor conducted extensive research into the new reporting of high school graduation and dropout data by the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). The report, High School Graduation and Dropout Data: California’s New Database May Enable the State to Better Serve Its High School Students Who Are at Risk of Dropping Out, was released yesterday. Continue reading