New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: archer altstaetter

Santa Ana and the County of Orange to recognize Harvey Milk Day this month

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Janet Nguyen, LGBT, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 7 Comments

Harvey Milk Day

Apparently the City of Santa Ana will be issuing a Certificate of Recognition honoring Harvey Milk, the slain San Francisco politician who has come to represent the gay movement in the U.S., on Monday, May 6, at the Council Meeting, according to an email I received from Archer Altstaetter, the promoter of the East End Promenade, in Downtown Santa Ana.

Archer wrote that “In 2010, Santa Ana was the first City in Orange County to recognize Harvey Milk Day and they have recognized it every year since. The recognition will take place at the beginning of the City Council meeting in City Council Chambers. City Council meeting is supposed to begin at 5:45 pm, but as most of you know, it sometimes is a little late getting started. Wear your GNFF shirts.” Continue reading→

Does the Velvet Lounge have a pee pee problem?

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alcohol, Bars, LGBT, Santa Ana 2 Comments

The OC Weekly named Santa Ana’s gay bar, the Velvet Lounge, the #1 gay bar (in a tie) in Long Beach and Orange County, on Dec. 31. But our friends at the Santa Ana Sentinel have a problem with the Velvet Loungers:

There is a recurring littering problem happening outside of the gay glub “VLVT” near the corner of Fourth & Ross streets. At the end of any given night clients of this club use the sidewalk near 410 W. Fourth street as a makeshift restroom.

That’s right, apparently the Velvet Loungers are apparently peeing all over the place – in public! No bueno! Continue reading→

Poll closes tonight: Who was Santa Ana’s Man of the Year in 2011?

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Arts and Culture, David Benavides, Jose Solorio, Miguel Pulido, Roman Reyna, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 22 Comments

Santa Ana Youth Commissioner Jonathan Espinoza is leading the vote for “Man of the Year”

We started the tradition of asking our readers to vote for the “Santa Ana Man of the Year” last year, when my friend Naui Huitzilopochtli won easily. I believe he now lives in Costa Mesa, so he won’t be repeating – but we do have some great choices in the poll below.

As 2011 draws to a close, it is time one more to ponder, who was Santa Ana’s Man of the Year? Vote below – and yes you can vote for up to three choices (if I missed someone you think should be on the list, please let us know by commenting!): Continue reading→

Are two downtown Santa Ana businesses going to violate city code tonight?

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Alcohol, Bars, Civic Affairs, Crime, Dance, Restaurants, Santa Ana 24 Comments

A Cover Charge at Proof? No bueno!

UPDATE: Santa Ana City Manager Paul Walters sent me an email today confirming that the City is looking into the issues raised in this post!

Chapter One: the Modern Local, a restaurant in Downtown Santa Ana, is promising a fun night tonight, which includes dancing – as per their Facebook event page. However, I am told that their Conditional Use Permit (C.U.P.) does NOT allow dancing. As far as I know, they did not petition the Santa Ana Planning Agency for an exception.

You may recall that one of the owners of Chapter One went off on Mexican owned businesses in Downtown Santa Ana, a few months ago, when he questioned the number of Quinceanera stores in the Downtown area. Well, I guarantee you that none of those shops will be flouting the law tonight! Continue reading→

PBID to be reconsidered by the Santa Ana City Council in May

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Business, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez tried her best to stop the PBID (a property tax in Downtown Santa Ana that is used largely to promote bars and restaurants and to maintain and secure the area) at Monday night’s Santa Ana City Council meeting, but she could not muster any support from her colleagues.

Instead, “The issue will be taken up again in May, according to Councilman Sal Tinajero, who told the Voice of OC “because the city should be allowed to consider dismantling the district without threat of litigation at that time. The law governing the district requires council members vote annually on whether to continue the district.” Continue reading→

Irv Chase’s promoter blames the “dirty Mexicans” in Downtown Santa Ana

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Business, Latinos, Santa Ana 43 Comments

Irv Chase’s promoter, Archer Altstaetter, told NBC yesterday that the Chase family is “upgrading and investing in their buildings, without any malice toward anyone.” ”It’s no different than the Irvine Company or any other retailer in a mall saying hey, if your stores are not clean, you’re out,” said Altstaetter.

Excuse me? Did Archer just blame the “dirty Mexicans?” You can see his commenting about this in the video provided above. Continue reading→

East End promoter joins the Usual Suspects, as he hypes a Zombie Walk

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Bars, Entertainment, Fashion, LGBT, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Good new and bad news for Archer Alstaetter, the promoter of the Santa Ana East End, who just opened his new store, OUTrageous Costume and Couture, at 305 E. 4th St., in Santa Ana.

Archer is hosting a “Zombie Walk” on Oct. 8, starting at 3 pm with a Monster Make-Up class, with a Zombie Walk at 5 pm, a Zombie feast at 6 pm, and a Zombie Party at Proof Bar, at 7 pm.

On the bad news front, it appears that Archer forget to get his Santa Ana Business License before he opened up shop. Continue reading→

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Santa Ana PBID

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Business, Santa Ana 60 Comments

Have you been wondering what all the fuss is about the Santa Ana PBID? Well, wonder no more. I got a hold of all the city documents related to the PBID, and you can view them by clicking here. This link will take you to a Google Documents folder with numerous documents related to the PBID, including:

The original PBID map
The public hearing notice
The order establishing the PBID
And various documents regarding modifications of the PBID

So what is the PBID? Continue reading→

Live blogging – Alvarez vs. Bustamante and Benavides at the Council meeting

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 12 Comments

I am covering tonight’s Santa Ana City Council meeting – which figures to be an epic confrontation between Republican Council Member Carlos Bustamante and his sidekick, David Benavides vs. Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez. The “B Boys” have put an 85 A item on the agenda to punish and maybe even ask Alvarez to resign from the Council.

This all came about as a result of an analogy made by Alvarez at the last Council meeting, when she compared developer and property owner Irv Chase to Adolf Hitler. She has since apologized. Continue reading→

The Artists Village Art Walk extends into Santa Ana’s East End

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Arts and Culture, Business, Fashion, Food, music, Restaurants, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The East End promenade featured a musical celebration last night that succeeded in attracting those who were hanging out at the Santa Ana Artists Village Art Walk. You can see a few pictures of the Art Walk above and a few pictures of the East End event below.

This is the first time I can remember that the Art Walk has been successfully extended to the East End. Continue reading→