The OC Film Fiesta continues on Sun., Sept. 11, at 2 pm, at The Yost, located at: 307 N. Spurgeon, in Santa Ana. The event starts with “A Celebration of Latino Veterans” and continues with a screening of “The Longoria Affair,” directed by John J. Valadez (Dir. John J. Valadez, 60 min., USA, 2010). Continue reading
MEXICAN ARTISAN FAIR // FERIA DE ARTESANÍA MEXICANA
Failed Santa Ana mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua’s Political Action Committee, which he calls the “Santa Ana Coalition for Better Government,” (SACBG) has sent out a bizarre email asking its members to show up to Tuesday night’s Santa Ana City Council meeting in protest of Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez while at the same time advocating against the PBID – the assessment charged to property owners in part of Downtown Santa Ana.
Do these self-serving yahoos realize that Alvarez is the ONLY Santa Ana Council Member who agrees with them regarding PBID? Why would they turn on her when she is advocating their position? How ridiculous are these people? Continue reading
May Day Coalition is organizing a Flash Mob today at 4 pm, to march through Downtown Santa Ana in protest of “being uprooted.” They are meeting at El Centro Cultural de Mexico, located at 310 5th Street, in Santa Ana.
Here is what they posted today on Facebook: Continue reading
THE MUSEUM OF TEACHING AND LEARNING (MOTAL) IN CONCERT WITH OCPARKS- THE OLD COUNTY COURTHOUSE PRESENTS A CLASS ACTION EXHIBIT – BEGINS ON SEPTEMBER 3, 2011 AND RUNS THROUGH JUNE 2012
The Museum of Teaching and Learning (MOTAL) and its collaborators bring their exhibit A Class Action: The Grassroots Struggle for School Desegregation in California- Mendez et al v. Westminster et al to Orange County. Collaborators include OCParks, the Center for Oral and Public History, California State University, Fullerton, the Orange County Department of Education, the Orange County Historical Commission and Chapman University.
According to Dr. Greta Nagel, President and founder of the Museum of Teaching and Learning, “We are excited to find an outstanding museum to showcase our exhibit, and we have an exciting group of educators, curators, historians, and designers to mount this exciting, interactive exhibit. Continue reading
Santa Ana artist and musician Theo Hirsch unloaded on the Republicans and fake liberals who have been attacking Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez this week, in a hard hitting post on his blog. Here are a few excerpts:
After a ton of local controversy because council woman Claudia Alvares had the balls to Call out Irv Chase in accusations of Gentrification, many things have become apparent:
I got a phone call tonight, on my cell phone, from a young lady who said that Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez should “learn English” and “go back to Mexico.” The caller blurted out something about the Holocaust and then hung up.
I was left wondering if the anonymous caller knew anything about the Native American Holocaust? Or that Alvarez, like 60% of modern Mexicans and Mexican Americans, is a Mestizo – which means she is descended from Native Americans and the Spanish who conquered Mexico. (Another 30% of today’s Mexicans are thought to be Natives even today – in fact many of these people still speak only their native tongues).
Alvarez erred by comparing Santa Ana business owner and developer Irv Chase to Adolf Hitler – but she was trying to make a valid point – that Chase has systematically profited over the years by partnering with former Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream to squeeze Latinos out of Downtown Santa Ana. Chase’s purchase of the Yost Theater, which Ream arranged to have effectively stolen from the Olivas family, is but one such example of this. Continue reading
Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez apologized today, in a phone call to the L.A. Times, for making statements that could be construed to be anti-Semitic.
“What I said was inappropriate, and I let my emotions get the best of me,” Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez told the L.A. Times. Here are a few more excerpts from the L.A. Times article:
Alvarez said getting emotional did not justify her statements. She said the debate has affected her personally because her father owned a business downtown, and the incident is the culmination of escalating tensions surrounding the downtown area.
“The conversation is not over,” she said. “I obviously need to learn how to keep my cool.”
What the heck is all this about, you might be wondering?
The O.C. Board of Supervisors approved by a 4-1 vote a redistricting plan this week, that was put forward by Board Chairman Bill Campbell. The plan moves a portion of Fountain Valley north of Warner Avenue from the Second District to the First District, according to the Fountain Valley Patch. The plan was opposed by the Fountain Valley City Council and by Supervisor John Moorlach, whose district got chopped up in the process.
The redistricting benefited the Republican Party of Orange County, as there will now be more Vietnamese voters in the First District and presumably they will vote for the incumbent, Supervisor Janet Nguyen, in 2012. Continue reading
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sandra Peña Sarmiento
August 19, 2011
OC Film Fiesta Brings Award-Winning Films and Movie Stars to Santa Ana Sept. 3-18
Free Latino Film Festival Begins Sat., Sept. 3 with Outdoor Screening and Zorro Tribute
(Santa Ana, CA) The OC Film Fiesta returns to downtown Santa Ana Sept. 3-18 for another cinematic celebration of Orange County’s cultural diversity and rich Latino history. The festival opens on Saturday, September 3 with a special screen tribute under the stars to Zorro, Orange County’s own international ambassador of swashbuckling. Continue reading
The Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) is launching an intensive crackdown on impaired driving, according to their Citizen Observer website.
While the SAPD’s DUI checkpoints really don’t work, the good news is that they will also be employing “Saturation Patrols,” which do work. But the bad news is that they have also announced their intention to conduct “driver’s license checks,” which is code for taking cars away from poor, hardworking undocumented immigrants.
Here are a the details about the SAPD crackdown:
The Santa Ana Police Department will join nearly 10,000 other law enforcement agencies nationwide in support of an intensive crackdown on impaired driving August 19–September 5, known as “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”. Continue reading
Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s bio says he grew up “working in the cotton fields.” Like Solorio I grew up doing manual labor, with my father, who owned a small janitorial service. Now Solorio is trying to pass a new law, A.B. 350, that will in fact affect janitorial laborers.
Dubbed the “Displaced Property Service Employee Opportunity Act,” AB 350 forces companies that provide building security, maintenance, window cleaning or food services to retain the employees of the previous service contractor for 90 days and then offer those employees continued employment unless their performance is unsatisfactory, according to CalWatchdog.
What this proposed law boils down to is that companies that provide certain services, and replace other contractors will have to hire their employees. I remember my dad won a lot of jobs by replacing ineffective janitorial service providers. Dad would have had a cow if he had to hire employees who did a bad job for their previous employer! Continue reading
Assemblyman Jose Solorio’s Communication Director, Carol Chamberlain, contacted me today with news that Solorio had in fact responded to mounting criticism of his proposed bill, AB 350, in a letter sent to the Sacramento Bee. I am reprinting that letter below.
AB 350 Provides Fairness for Low Wage Workers
By: State Assemblyman Jose Solorio, Anaheim
The Bee editorial, Union Bill would tie hands of employers, misses the mark, includes factual errors and is biased. Anyone knowledgeable of AB 350 and who read this opinion would recognize the voice of the highly financed, anti-union alliance feeding inaccuracies to a welcoming Bee editorial board and other newspaper boards throughout the state. Continue reading
Pictured: The Board of the Santa Ana Soccer and Business Association, with Miguel Pulido and Vince Sarmiento
The Voice of OC is reporting that we were right – the Chivas USA soccer team is NOT moving to Santa Ana after all. Will Santa Ana’s soccer-hating Usual Suspects now apologize for creating mass hysteria about the proposed move – which was really never more than a pipe dream?
The Voice of OC’s Adam Elmahrek interviewed Edgar Vasquez of the Santa Ana Soccer and Business Association. We first reported about Vasquez and his new organization way back in January of this year, when they met with Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido. Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Angela Burrell, APR, 714-558-5555
Camino de Amistad Scheduled to Promote High School Registration in Santa Ana
SANTA ANA, CA – August 4, 2011 – To spread the word about high school registration dates in preparation for the first day of instruction on August 24, Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) in partnership with Padres Promotores de la Educación will host the annual Camino de Amistad (Friendship Walk) on Saturday, August 6 beginning at 8 a.m. More than 200 secondary school parents, their children and supporters will fan out from SAUSD’s comprehensive high schools to disseminate 20,000 promotional door hangers containing important information for high school students and their parents to be aware of for the coming 2011-12 school year. High school registration dates span the week of August 8 through August 15. Students are invited to contact their respective school for specific dates and times based on their grade level as follows: Continue reading