Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: Orange County

Santa Ana Political Chismes: Did Nguyen prod Bustamante to attack Alvarez?

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Janet Nguyen, Orange County, Santa Ana 12 Comments

When Santa Ana Councilman Carlos Bustamante ran for reelection, in 2008, he was fully supported by Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez.  In fact he even sat next to her during the campaign debates – and she would help him with what to say as he was usually over his head.

Why then did Bustamante turn on Alvarez this week – and try to use the Code of Ethics to remove her from the position of Mayor Pro Tem, and from the OC Water Board?

An insider I know, who is about a third-tier member of the Usual Suspects, confided to me yesterday that the reason that Bustamante turned on Alvarez is simple – Supervisor Janet Nguyen put him up to it. Continue reading→

Great Park launches new artists-in-residence program

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, irvine, Orange County, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: JENN STARNES

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011 949-724-6574

Great Park Launches New Artists-in-Residence Program

Public Program Begins with Fiber Artist Amy Caterina

September 7, 2011 – IRVINE, California – The Orange County Great Park has announced its inaugural lineup of four Artists-in-Residence: Amy Caterina, Deborah Aschheim, Kevin Kwan Loucks and Suguru Goto. The Great Park Artists-in-Residence program is dedicated to showcasing artists, providing an educational experience for the community and designing site-specific art for the Great Park. Continue reading→

Lime Truck, UHC, and Second Harvest team up to help feed people in need

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Charities, Entertainment, Food, Health and Medical, homeless Leave a comment

MEDIA ADVISORY

UnitedHealthcare, The Lime Truck Featured in The Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County Team Up To Help Feed People in Need

WHAT: UnitedHealthcare is sponsoring a one-day event that’ll provide residents in need in Southern California thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables, as well as healthy and nutritious meals provided by the Lime Truck, which is featured in The Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race. Continue reading→

John Wayne Airport announces art installations to celebrate new terminal

Posted on by Posted in Airplanes, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 6, 2011

Contact: Jenny Wedge, (949) 252-5182 (office)

JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT ANNOUNCES ART INSTALLATIONS TO CELEBRATE NEW TERMINAL C

SANTA ANA, Calif. – John Wayne Airport (JWA) will present four unique and exciting art exhibitions to celebrate the opening of the new Thomas F. Riley Terminal C in November 2011. 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:

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→

Why not name the O.C. Great Park after Harvey Milk?

Posted on by Posted in Democratic Party, irvine, Orange County, Parks and Recreation, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Will Irvine Mayor Beth Krom support naming the O.C. Great Park after Harvey Milk?

While everyone has been focusing on the ruckus between Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez and the Chase family, at last night’s special session of the Santa Ana City Council, there was one other controversial item on the agenda.

The Council named a city-owned plaza that is in the East End Promenade, formerly the Fiesta Marketplace.  They chose to name it the Plaza Santa Ana.

An Irvine blogger ripped this decision and he questioned why the City Council did not name the Plaza after Harvey Milk, the gay San Francisco politician who was murdered by another Supervisor.  Milk has since become an icon of the gay movement. Continue reading→

O.C. Supervisors add Fountain Valley’s Viet voters to Nguyen’s 1st District

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Elections, Fountain Valley, Janet Nguyen, Latinos, Orange County, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana, Vietnamese 5 Comments

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→

The Del McCoury Band at the Flights & Sounds Summer Festival on 8/27

Posted on by Posted in Entertainment, irvine, music, Orange County, Parks and Recreation, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 23, 2011

CONTACT: JENN STARNES, 949-724-6574

The Del McCoury Band Brings Bluegrass to Flights & Sounds Summer Festival this Weekend

Gospel R&B group H’Sao performs on Friday; Bluegrass legend McCoury on Saturday.

IRVINE – The Great Park’s Flights & Sounds Summer Festival launches the fourth weekend of summer dance parties and concerts with rich mix of harmonic soul, R&B and bluegrass music. Continue reading→

Santa Ana man charged with exposing penis to girls – more victims sought

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

TONY RACKAUCKAS, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Date: August 22, 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 # 11WF1978: OCDA SEEKS PUBLIC’S HELP IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL VICTIMS OF MAN CHARGED WITH EXPOSING PENIS TO THREE MINOR GIRLS AND 18-YEAR-OLD WALKING TO SCHOOL

WESTMINSTER – The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) is seeking the public’s help Identifying potential additional victims of a man charged with exposing his penis to three minor girls and an 18-year-old female who were walking to school. John Rodriguez, 20, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of attempted sexual battery, four misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure, and three misdemeanor counts of child annoyance. Continue reading→

The SAUSD 2011 STAR test results are still far below the O.C. averages

Posted on by Posted in Education, Santa Ana, SAUSD 12 Comments

The results of the California 2011 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program exams in English–language arts, mathematics, science, and history–social science, were released this week, by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

As usual, the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) tried to spin the results, as you can see in this excerpt from their press release: “Students at all three levels increased their proficient and advanced scores from 2009 to 2011 in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. Districtwide proficiency scores in English Language Arts grew from 24.6% to 26.3% across the board at the elementary, intermediate and high school levels. Mathematics stats are equally as impressive, with an increase from 23% to 26.6% Districtwide for the same period. The number of students who scored advanced also increased a few percentage points Districtwide as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federally mandated targets continue to increase each year.” Continue reading→

African-Americans targets of one third of Orange County’s hate crimes

Posted on by Posted in African Americans, Civil Rights, Crime, Entertainment, Orange County, Santa Ana 2 Comments

A Fullerton Republican emailed this picture to her friends but was exposed by the OC Weekly

Reports Shows Hate Crime Targeting African-Americans are One Third of all reported in 2010

OC Human Relations Commission Releases the 2010 Hate Crime Report

Thursday, August 18, 10:00 am

OC Human Relations, Conf. Rm A/B, 1300 S. Grand Building B, Santa Ana, CA 92705

In September of 2010 an African-American woman and a white man were walking together in their apartment complex when they heard a white male on an upstairs balcony yell, “Interracial relationships are wrong!” and call the woman a “nigger.”  The perpetrator then walked downstairs and confronted the couple, punched the man in the face knocking him down and then kicked his back causing concussions. The perpetrator then fled the scene. Continue reading→

Great Park to host NFL Punt, Pass and Kick Competition on 8/19

Posted on by Posted in Entertainment, Family, irvine, Orange County, Parks and Recreation, Sports, Youth Activities Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 12, 2011
CONTACT: JENN STARNES, 949-724-6574

Great Park to Host NFL Punt, Pass and Kick Competition

Young football fans compete for place in national contest

IRVINE –The Orange County Great Park is calling local boys and girls ages 6-15 to showcase their football talents at the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick (PPK) competition on Friday, August 19. The competition is free, but participants must register by Wednesday, August 17. The competition will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the new Great Park North Lawn. Continue reading→

Man indicted for beating and murdering a toddler and similar case in 2009

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

TONY RACKAUCKAS, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Date: August 11, 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

MAN INDICTED FOR BEATING-MURDER OF 18-MONTH-OLD TODDLER AND SIMILAR 2009 CHILD ABUSE OF 3-MONTH-OLD RELATIVE

SANTA ANA – A man was indicted today by the Orange County Grand Jury for the beating-murder of his girlfriend’s sister’s 18-month-old daughter and abusing another child in a similar way in 2009. Juan Carlos Aguilar, 25, Santa Ana, was indicted on one felony count of murder, one felony count of assault on child with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death, and two felony counts of child abuse. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. Continue reading→

O.C.D.A. hosts annual summer youth education conference from August 8-12

Posted on by Posted in Courts, Crime, Education, Orange County, Santa Ana, Youth Activities Leave a comment

TONY RACKAUCKAS, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Date: August 5, 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

OCDA HOSTS 12TH ANNUAL SUMMER YOUTH EDUCATION CONFERENCE FOR STUDENTS INTERESTED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT

SANTA ANA – Local Orange County high school students will have the opportunity next week to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to be a prosecutor, defense attorney, police detective and judge during the 12th Annual Summer Youth Education Conference. Continue reading→