Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Santa Ana

Treasurer who worked with Correa, Sanchez and Solorio arrested by the FBI

Posted on by Posted in Courts, Crime, Democratic Party, Jose Solorio, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, Michele Martinez, Politics, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Kindee Durkee photo by Henry V

Kinde Durkee of Burbank-based Durkee and Associates, a prominent Democratic campaign treasurer who works for federal, state and O.C. lawmakers including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Rep. Loretta Sanchez and state legislators Lou Correa and Jose Solorio, has been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of mail fraud, according to The Orange County Register.

State Sen. Lou Correa of Santa Ana told the Register the FBI notified him late Friday that he was one of many victims. Correa said he believes he has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds. Durkee had been his campaign treasurer since 1995, according to the Huffington Post.

Correa quickly posted a response on Facebook: Continue reading→

Benavides and Bustamante to attack Alvarez at the 9/6 City Council meeting

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 66 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez has faced a withering attack this week, even though she has already apologized for her ill-chosen analogy, comparing developer and landlord Irv Chase, who it turns out is Jewish, to Adolf Hitler.  She might have made it through this mini-storm if her colleagues had stuck by her but I don’t think any of them are willing to take a stand for her.  It has as such become increasingly likely that she may step down as Mayor Pro Tem, although I suspect that she will remain on the Santa Ana City Council.

This could happen at the next Santa Ana City Council meeting on Sep. 6.  Council Member David Benavides and his Republican amigo, Carlos Bustamante, have placed an 85A item on the Council Agenda, targeting Alvarez.   Continue reading→

OC Labor Day event at the Santa Ana Zoo, and other weekend events

Posted on by Posted in Costa Mesa, Entertainment, Labor, Orange, Orange County, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Labor Day is coming up fast.  If you are looking for things to do in and around Santa Ana, on Labor Day weekend, here you go:

Flash mob and protest to start at El Centro Cultural de Mexico at 4 pm

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Claudia Alvarez, Entertainment, Latinos, mexico, Politics, Santa Ana 2 Comments

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 Register labeled Santa Ana gentrification “ethnic cleansing” in 2004

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Business, Claudia Alvarez, Historical, Santa Ana 11 Comments

Did you know that the O.C. Register started using the term “Ethnic Cleansing” with regard to the gentrification of Downtown Santa Ana way back in 2004?

Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Sean Mill wrote a letter to the Register that they published on August 1, 2004.  I have reproduced the letter above.  The Register’s letters editor came up with the headline of “Ethnic Cleansing in Santa Ana?”  Mill did NOT use that term in his letter! Continue reading→

Santa Ana Political Chismes – will Daly announce his 69th A.D. campaign today?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Democratic Party, Elections, Michele Martinez, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Daly and his fellow overpaid government worker pals…

I just got a tip that O.C. Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly is going to be announcing his campaign for the 69th Assembly District today.  The timing makes sense as this will allow him to take the stage at the O.C. Labor Day event, at the Santa Ana Zoo, and pimp for votes.

Daly was the Mayor of Anaheim back in the 90’s.  In his last campaign, in 1998, he beat Bob Zemel, a Republican, by 54% to 40%, according to Smart Voter.  He ran on a platform of hiring more cops, not raising taxes and “beautifying and revitalizing” Anaheim – which is Usual Suspect code for getting rid of the poor and the immigrants.

Has Daly done a good job as O.C. Clerk-Recorder?   Continue reading→

The First Saturday Santa Ana Art Walk on 9/3 will be epic!

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Bars, Entertainment, Movies, music, Restaurants, Santa Ana 1 Comment

This Saturday’s Santa Ana Art Walk is going to be amazing – with more entertainment and events than ever before.

For starters, how about some lucha libre?  Luchpaloozawill be starting at 6 pm, at 324 W. 4th Street, in Downtown Santa Ana.  FREE!! Lucha Libre!!! Music and more!  Continue reading→

Santa Ana woman convicted of killing husband with a knife

Posted on by Posted in Courts, Crime, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

SAPD Photo

TONY RACKAUCKAS, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Date: September 2, 2011
Susan Kang Schroeder, Office: 714-347-8408, Cell: 714-292-2718
Chief of Staff Farrah Emami, Spokesperson, Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-323-4486

Case # 10CF0832: WIFE CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER FOR SLICING AND KILLING HUSBAND WITH KNIFE DURING ARGUMENT

SANTA ANA – A wife was convicted today of manslaughter for slicing and killing her husband with a knife during an argument. Janeth Hernandez, 30, Santa Ana, pleaded guilty today, Sept. 2, 2011, to one felony count of manslaughter and a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. She faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in state prison at her sentencing hearing Oct. 14, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-41, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Free screening of film about Mendez vs. Westminster on 9/3 at Old Courthouse

Posted on by Posted in Civil Rights, Education, Entertainment, Historical, Latinos, Movies, Santa Ana, Westminster 2 Comments

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→

Nursing assistant charged with touching three Santa Ana ROP students

Posted on by Posted in Courts, Crime, Health and Medical, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Youth Activities Leave a comment

Contact: Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, Public Information Officer, Santa Ana Police Department, 714-245-8029, Cell: 714-709-2043
Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff, Orange County District Attorney, 714-347-8408, Cell: 714-292-2718
Farrah Emami, Spokesperson, Orange County District Attorney, 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-323-4486

Santa Ana Police Department & Orange County District Attorney Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 1, 2011

Case # 11CM12385: NURSING ASSISTANT CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY TOUCHING THREE TEENAGE FEMALE ROP STUDENTS Continue reading→

Santa Ana man charged with murdering nephew in Irvine DUI

Posted on by Posted in Courts, Crime, irvine, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

TONY RACKAUCKAS, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Date: September 1, 2011
Susan Kang Schroeder, Office: 714-347-8408, Cell: 714-292-2718
Chief of Staff Farrah Emami, Spokesperson, Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-323-4486

Case # 11HF222: DRUNKEN DRIVER CHARGED WITH MURDERING NEPHEW AND INJURING BROTHER-IN-LAW BY CRASHING INTO TRAFFIC LIGHT POLE

SANTA ANA – A drunken driver has been charged with murdering his nephew and severely injuring his brother-in-law after driving while intoxicated and refusing the offer of a bartender and police officer to call him a cab. Tapu Aniceto Sitagata, 27, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count each of murder, driving under the influence causing bodily injury, driving with a blood alcohol .08 percent or more causing bodily injury, hit and run with injury, and one misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended license. Continue reading→

New SAUSD textbook policy straining students’ backs and hurting learning

Posted on by Posted in Education, Health and Medical, Roman Reyna, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Youth Activities 13 Comments

SAUSD students and parents, as well as teachers and administrators are in an uproar over an ill-advised cost-cutting measure adapted by the SAUSD, apparently on the sly.

As of this year, SAUSD schools are not stocking extra “class sets” of textbooks in the classrooms.  Instead students are now required to carry their textbooks to and from school everyday without the opportunity of leaving them in lockers nor in the classroom. The total weight of carrying some of these textbooks can exceed 25 pounds. These books can contain over 400 pages each and the health issues related to students carrying these textbooks are immense.

“Over 92% of children in the United States carry backpacks that are typically loaded with 10% to 22% of their body weight,” write the researchers. “Thirty-seven percent of children aged 11 to 14 years report back pain, the majority of whom attribute the pain to wearing a school backpack,” according to WebMD. Continue reading→

DPOC Chairman Barbaro rips Alvarez, but he once compared Bush to the Nazis

Posted on by Posted in Claudia Alvarez, Democratic Party, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 13 Comments

Frank Barbaro, the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) attacked Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez today, in a statement released to the media.

Barbaro wrote that  “We strongly agree with the Anti-Defamation League’s position that no matter how strong one’s objections to any government policy, invoking the Holocaust and the Nazi effort to exterminate the Jewish people is grossly offensive and has no place in civil political discourse.

Barbaro also wrote that “Using the Holocaust as an analogy for the frustration of local politics displays an ignorance of history and an insensitivity to the tragedy in human history that saw the murder of six million Jews and millions of others. The use of words such as ‘ethnic cleansing’ had no place in meaningful debate and discourse at the Santa Ana City Council meeting.” Continue reading→

City of Santa Ana intern to be arraigned for videotaping guys in the restroom

Posted on by Posted in Courts, Crime, Public Safety, public works, Santa Ana 1 Comment

TONY RACKAUCKAS, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Date: August 31, 2011
Susan Kang Schroeder, Office: 714-347-8408, Cell: 714-292-2718
Chief of Staff Farrah Emami, Spokesperson, Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-323-4486

Case # 11CM08525: INTERN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR SECRETLY VIDEOTAPING MEN UNDER SANTA ANA CITY HALL RESTROOM STALLS USING HIS CELL PHONE Continue reading→

SB 791 will raise gas taxes to allow local communities to fix transportation

Posted on by Posted in california, Democratic Party, Politics, Santa Ana, Transportation 3 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

  • Graham Brownstein, TransForm, (916) 441-0204 x 302, graham@transformca.org
  • Ahmad Chapman, TransForm, (916) 441-0204 x 301, achapman@transformca.org
  • Noah Finneburgh, Next Generation, (510) 289-0908, noah@nextgeneration.org
  • Warner Chabot, California League of Conservation Voters, (510) 375-2141, warner@ecovote.org
  • Rebecca Saltzman, California League of Conservation Voters, (510) 844-0226, rebecca@ecovote.org

SEN. DARRELL STEINBERG INTRODUCES BILL TO EMPOWER LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO FIX TRANSPORTATION

Coalition of Business, Labor, and Environmental Groups Launches to Pass SB 791

(Sacramento, CA) Today, California State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg introduced legislation, SB 791, which would empower local communities in California to fix transportation. Continue reading→