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Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: usual suspects

Com Link meeting about parking enforcement set for May 23

Posted on by Posted in Entertainment, Neighborhood Associations, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Santa Ana Communication Linkage Forum (“Com-Link”) is hosting a General Meeting on Thursday, May 23, 2013, at 6:30 pm, at the Santa Ana Police Department Community Room (60 Civic Center Plaza).

AGENDA

  • Parking Enforcement and Solutions for our Neighborhoods
  • Special Guests: SAPD Deputy Chief of Field Operations Doug McGeachy and Francisco Orellana of Public Works’ Traffic Engineering Section
  • 6:30 -7:00 Socialize & Network with other involved Santa Ana residents
  • 7:00 Spotlight: Santa Ana City Councilmember Vince Sarmiento to share highlights of the City’s vision and goals Continue reading→

Will the new City Council support finishing the Santiago Creek bike trail?

Posted on by Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Bicycles, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Health and Medical, Mark McLoughlin, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Parks and Recreation, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 16 Comments

How will the new Santa Ana City Council deal with the uncompleted Santiago Creek Bike Trail?  The trail is complete right now – except for a “missing link” – a 1/4-mile gap located in the Santiago Creek, between the 5 Freeway underpass and Flower Street.  The City of Santa Ana does not currently have a bike trail proposed in the missing link.

A grass-roots neighborhood organization, Neighbors for the Santiago Creek Bike Trail, was formed to further the goal of a bike path in the “missing link” along Santiago Creek. Once the bike trail is completed, our neighborhoods will have ready access to adjoining trails. The Neighbors for the Santiago Creek Bike Trail want open space and the ability to connect to these outlying bike trails, shopping centers and communities either by biking, jogging or hiking. Continue reading→

Why I won’t be voting for Benavides in November

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Carlos Bustamante, David Benavides, Democratic Party, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 36 Comments

Is it any surprise to anyone that Santa Ana Council Member David Benavides chose to break the news that he is running against Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido on the Republican OC Political blog?  That is exactly what I have come to expect from Benavides. 

When Benavides was first elected, back in 2006, he had a great story to offer.  He had come to Santa Ana as part of a ministry and he decided to stay here and put down roots.  But he very quickly was compromised by Santa Ana’s racist old guard – the Usual Suspects.  Mostly old and angry Republicans they brought him up through the Neighborhood Association movement – which pretends to represent the people of Santa Ana but realistically represents at most 1% of our community – and is heavily subsidized by our tax dollars.  He declared on his Smart Voter page that he was the winner of the “Neighborhood Hero Award,” the penultimate badge of honor for these metiches.  Continue reading→

Bustamante’s last hurrah was the Usual Suspects’ 2012 4th of July event

Posted on by Posted in Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Courts, Crime, David Benavides, Francisco Barragan, Orange County, Parks and Recreation, Politics, Republican Party, Santa Ana 5 Comments

It turns out that Santa Ana Council Member Carlos Bustamante’s last hurrah was the 2nd Annual Santa Ana Independence Day event at Centennial Park, which was held last Sunday.   He was arrested the very next day, after parking his car in a parking structure at City Hall, on charges of sex crimes and public theft.

One of the things that always bothered me about Bustamante was his overstated patriotism and gung ho attitude towards public safety.  It always felt fake to me.  He once compared himself to movie character Forrest Gump, a pretty dumb guy who made out over time by being in the right place at the right time.  That is the story of Bustamante’s life. Continue reading→

CA Supreme Court punts the Usual Suspects’ One Broadway Plaza lawsuit

Posted on by Posted in Business, Courts, Development, Jobs, Santa Ana 1 Comment

“The California Supreme Court has declined to hear an activist group’s lawsuit to block construction of One Broadway Plaza, a planned 37-story office tower near downtown Santa Ana,” according to the Voice of OC. 

The Coalition for Accountable Government Ethics (CAGE) had sued to stop developer Mile Harrah from proceeding with the project, arguing that the Santa Ana City Council illegally removed a condition that Harrah lease 50 percent of the building before beginning construction. Continue reading→

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

Posted on by 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→

How and why I ended up helping Pulido to defeat Amezcua last year

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Carlos Bustamante, Claudia Alvarez, Dave Ream, David Benavides, Elections, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Sean Mill, Vince Sarmiento 10 Comments

Former Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream was not a fan of the Orange Juice blog

I have taken a lot of heat over the past couple of years because I ended up supporting Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido for Mayor last year – and I was retained by his consultant to design his campaign blog. This left a few of my friends scratching their heads.

I fought Pulido and his allies for over fifteen years – and flayed them onthe political blog I created, the Orange Juice. The Orange Juice blog changed Santa Ana politics.  It broke down the barriers built up by now retired Santa Ana City Manager Dave Ream.  We went after him and his allies with such a vengeance that they monitored our site all day long.   Continue reading→

Debunking the lies being spread by Santa Ana’s soccer-hating Usual Suspects

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Civil Rights, Neighborhood Associations, Planning, Santa Ana, Sports 28 Comments

The anti-soccer haters here in Santa Ana are actually very few in number – but like noisy chihuahuas they are a pain in the rear – and the media has been paying attention to them, even though they hardly represent the overall population of Santa Ana.

Now they have even started a very lame little blog, using antiquated Blogspot software – and they have even infected the Washington Square Neighborhood. The good news is that now we can go about debunking their silly arguments.

Here are the half-truths and exaggerations that these folks are passing along as if they were facts (my answers follow each of their allegations): Continue reading→

Santa Ana anti-soccer Klan of Usual Suspects rally tonight

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Civil Rights, Politics, Racism, Santa Ana 26 Comments

Few folks today remember that the KKK was big in Santa Ana back in the late 1800’s.  But they were – in fact a fellow named Dr. Henry William Head lived in Santa Ana, where he served as the leader of the Santa Ana KKK, according to the OC Weekly.  But they didn’t wear the usual Klan clothing or even call themselves Klansmen because they were ordered to abandon those ways – so they wouldn’t get caught.

Years later the heritage of these haters lives on.  Today we call them Santa Ana’s Usual Suspects – and they gathered at a “rally” tonight, at 6 pm, at the home of XXXXX XXX, at XXX N. Heliotrope, to complain about the Chivas USA, a soccer team in Los Angeles that is very unlikely to move here to Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Usual Suspects use the courts to force a new One Broadway Plaza election

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Courts, Development, Politics, Redevelopment, Santa Ana 13 Comments

A Superior court judge has sided with Santa Ana’s Usual Suspects, derailing the One Broadway Project development and forcing its developer, Mike Harrah, to return to the ballot box, according to the Voice of OC blog.

The Santa Ana City Council amended the developer agreement last year, allowing Harrah to start the project without preleasing fifty percent of the building.  However the judge ruled that this amendment was illegal because the voters approved the project, via Measure A, under a different set of rules. Continue reading→

Our visit to a Chivas USA game reveals families and fun – no trash

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Family, Santa Ana, Sports 11 Comments

Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Sean Mill scored us a pair of VIP tickets at yesterday’s Chivas USA soccer match against the Dallas team.  So we drove up the 405 Freeway and arrived early at the Home Depot Center in Carson to take it all in.

The Home Depot Center is something else.  The parking is shared with Cal State Dominguez Hills.  There is plenty of parking and security.  The lot was quite clean and everyone was well behaved and having a good time.

You might recall that the NIMBY Usual Suspects here in Santa Ana are screaming about trash and diapers, with respect to the prospect that the Chivas USA might move here to Santa Ana.  But Mill and I didn’t see ANY trash, or diapers.  What we saw was a lot of families having an awesome time.

There were a lot of Latino families at the game but we also saw a lot of Caucasians too.  That made sense as the Chivas USA squad is majority non-Latino and the Chivas Girls are pretty diverse too.

There was a Chivas themed family area that was really busy with vendors including State Farm Insurance, Sprint, Juanitas and other big companies.  They were giving away all sorts of stuff including hats, t-shirts, water bottles, etc.  There was also a number of stages with live music and dancing.

The Chivas Girls signed free posters and the Chivas mascot ran around taking pictures with the kids and their parents.  The whole event was one big community celebration.

The VIP section we sat in featured hosts and servers that brought food right to you.  We also won two seats each for a future game, from State Farm Insurance.

The Chivas USA team also celebrated AIDS Awareness Day, as you can see in the picture above.  They are also hosting a Diversity Day at an upcoming game – they appear to be huge supporters of the gay and lesbian community.  Again, the Usual Suspects haven’t even noticed that.

As you will see in the picture slideshow embedded above, the Chivas USA games are fun for all and there are no security issues whatsoever.  The NIMBY Usual Suspects are wrong again, as usual.

The fact however is that the Chivas USA may never come to Santa Ana.  They play in a beautiful facility in Carson.  The only reason I could see them leaving was if we could guarantee to sell out the games.  I think we could do better than Carson, where the Chivas USA play second fiddle to the Galaxy, but it is still a long shot.  That has not of course stopped the Usual Suspects from their usual screaming and racist attacks.  Par for the course…

Why the Chivas Soccer Stadium should be built at the Willowick Golf Course

Posted on by Posted in Alfredo Amezcua, Development, Latinos, Miguel Pulido, Real Estate, Redevelopment, Santa Ana, Sports 52 Comments

To understand the true genius that is the idea behind putting the Chivas Soccer Stadium complex at the site of the Willowick Golf Course, you have to look at the Google satellite map of the area.  You see that diagonal grey line that abuts the north side of Willowick and runs from Garden Grove to Santa Ana Blvd.?  That is the old P&E Santa Ana line.  It is an abandoned rail line.  And it is where Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido wants to run a new street car system.

Now it all makes sense.  I thought the street car idea was pretty lame until I connected the dots – this new light rail system will begin at the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, where the Metrolink trains currently stop, over on the east of Downtown Santa Ana, and stretch all the way to downtown Garden Grove.  And it will bring Chivas fans to the new Stadium complex.

Take a look at the neighborhoods surrounding Willowick.  This is a very blue collar area.  The new light rail/street car will transform all of the neighborhoods lining the old P&E line.  And the new Chivas Soccer Stadium Complex will be a game changer.  I am told that it will include recreational facilities for our youth.

Think about the big picture.  The Chivas U.S. soccer club is a professional sports franchise.  It will be Santa Ana’s first pro team.  It will put us on the map – and soccer is the most popular game in the world.  Here in the U.S. it is the most popular youth sport.

The street car to Garden Grove will also give our residents direct access to a cluster of colleges, including Cal State Fullerton’s Extension campus.

What is the downside?  I don’t see it.  The street car system would be funded by Measure M and federal grants.

There is already a precedent for this in San Diego, where a light rail system delivers fans to the San Diego Chargers Stadium.

The opposition to this project is comprised of a cluster of mostly white Republicans – none of whom live near the Willowick Golf Course.  The Voice of OC recently provided us with a list of some of these malcontents:

  • Tim Rush – not married, no kids, lives in south Santa Ana.  Registered Republican.
  • Tom Lutz – married but retired, lives by Santa Ana College.  Registered Republican.
  • Don Cribb – lives in the Park Santiago neighborhood, in north Santa Ana.  Not married, no kids.
  • Alfredo Amezcua – lives in Morrison Park.  Divorced.  Kids are grown up.  Registered Democrat.
  • Thomas Gordon – lives in south Santa Ana.  Not married.  No kids.  Registered Republican.
  • Dave Brandt – lives in south Santa Ana.  Retired.  Registered Republican.
  • Debbie McEwen – lives in French Park, where she once tried to keep Mexicans out with traffic barriers, which had to be torn out after the ACLU won a lawsuit against the City.  Not married.  No kids.

A friend of mine recently attended a meeting of these malcontent “Usual Suspects.  I asked my friend what they talked about.  The response was just as I figured, “they talked about how Mexicans always leave trash and diapers behind.”

As usual, the opposition to the Chivas soccer team and soccer complex is rooted in overt racism.  That should not come as a surprise given the folks who are involved and given that most of them are Republicans.  I don’t know what possessed Amezcua to join hands with these xenophobic haters.  Bad move Al!

These folks are crying about traffic and noise – and are saying that the Chivas will push Santa Ana High School and Santa Ana College football games out of Eddie West Stadium.  The truth is that the Chivas will play at that facility but only until the new complex at Willowick is built.  The Santa  Ana City Council will work with the SAUSD School Board and the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Education to make sure that the school football teams are accomodated.  Pulido has allies on both of those elected bodies.  The City of Santa Ana has good relationships with both school districts.

As for traffic, the fact is that many Santa Ana residents will get to Eddie West field on foot, by bike and on the bus.  Eddie West Stadium has limited capacity.  I expect each Chivas game to be a total sell-out.

The good news for the school districts is that there will be improvements made to Eddie West Stadium that will benefit the school teams, at no cost to them.

It has been suggested that the Chivas soccer complex be built in east Santa Ana.  But when you consider the implications of the proposed street car system, it is obvious that Willowick is a slam dunk.

Will the City of Garden Grove, which owns Willowick, play ball?  You bet.  The street car system will bring new customers to their downtown, revitalizing that area too.  You think the restaurant owners in their downtown will be opposed to that?  No way!

The Usual Suspects return, to try to stop the Chivas from coming to Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Development, Latinos, Miguel Pulido, Neighborhood Associations, Politics, Redevelopment, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Sports 14 Comments

Pictured above: Debbie McEwen, a member of the Usual Suspects’ coalition against the Chivas Soccer team

They’re back…the folks I used to refer to as the “Usual Suspects” have come together again. This time they are ticked off about Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s ongoing attempts to bring the Chivas soccer team to Santa Ana.
Here is what the Voice of OC has reported about the resurgence of the “Usual Suspects:”

With rumors swirling about a potential pro soccer expansion into Santa Ana, some 50 residents gathered Wednesday night to complain about potential traffic, noise and other problems that soccer games could create.

Residents opposed to the move appear to be circulating a protest petition. They are particularly incensed over rumors that Mayor Miguel Pulido is holding private meetings aimed at bringing the team to the city while avoiding any input from residents.

Tom Lutz, a former council member, hosted the residents at his home. He said he found out about the negotiations and possible move only because of old contacts he has at City Hall.

Lutz said he understands that if the soccer team comes to the city, its first home would be Santa Ana Stadium. If true, that would displace football teams of local high schools like Mater Dei and Century, according to Lutz. The move also would mean Santa Ana College’s football team could lose access to the stadium, he said.

At the end of the meeting, residents formed a committee to prevent the team from coming to the city. The committee includes Rush, Lutz, Don Cribb, Alfredo Amezcua, Thomas Gordon, Dave Brandt, and Debbie McEwen.

Note that failed Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua is now a full-fledged member of the Usual Suspects. Latino voters will remember this when Amezcua comes begging for votes the next time he runs for Mayor.

I am not buying the silly argument about the school sports programs getting kicked out of Eddie West Stadium. Note that none of the new Usual Suspects are on the SAUSD School board – and not one of them has any children enrolled in our SAUSD schools. In fact most of them aren’t even married, or are too old to have kids.

What these NIMBYs don’t realize is the tremendous economic impact that the Chivas will have on our city. Nor do they care that the majority of our residents will be thrilled to welcome the Chivas to town.

I also don’t buy the open space argument. The Willowick golf course is not of any use to the thousands of residents in Santa Ana who don’t play golf, or cannot afford to do so. But the proposed Chivas complex will include new soccer fields that will be a huge boon to the young people of our city.

If the Usual Suspects want more open space they should join the dying lawn bowling league at Santiago Park, or go jog in our cemeteries.

Time to strike a new tone and retire the phrase “Usual Suspects”

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Housing, immigration, Politics, Santa Ana 9 Comments

As we close out this year, I would like to set a better tone going forward.  We think our readers value our political coverage, but we also feel that we can accomplish those means in a better way – by not resorting to more snarkiness than is required.

To that end, we are going to end the use of the phrase “Usual Suspects.”  We have often used the phrase “Usual Suspects” to refer to a group of community leaders here in Santa Ana who have consistently used City Hall to attack our immigrant community.  Over the years they have used our local government, consistently, to make life hard for the many Mexicans and Central Americans who live here in town.  Their actions have included:

  • Erecting barricades in French Park, to keep the Mexicans out
  • Making it illegal to dry laundry outside
  • Greatly limiting the number of garage sales our residents can conduct
  • Trying to make human signs illegal
  • Trying to make it illegal to deliver flyers to our doorsteps
  • Putting bear locks on trash cans in one particular neighborhood, to keep the poor from gaining access to recyclables
  • Getting rid of the nets on certain basketball courts so as to prevent their use
  • Trying to make it illegal to play soccer on certain park fields
  • Suing the city to stop developments that include affordable housing
  • Celebrating Halloween on a different night and turning off the lights on Halloween.  I will let you figure that one out.

I think you get the point.  Over the past few years however there has been a real change at City Hall as we now have an all-Latino City Council that does not support such actions.  As such I no longer see a need to use the phrase “Usual Suspects.”  There are less of them now than ever – and by January they will all be gone from our City Commissions.  Moreover, none of them have even a remote chance of being elected to our City Council.  We are free at last.

I urge these people to now put aside their past hatreds and learn to work with the City Council and with the community at large for the betterment of our city.  It is time to move on folks.

We will do our part by ending the use of the phrase “Usual Suspects.”  And we will endeavor to cover our political scene in a kinder fashion.  Let us all then work to make things better here in Santa Ana.  Don’t just complain – please let us know what YOU think our city leaders should do to foster positive improvements at City Hall.

Our suggestions for making Santa Ana a better place for our working families include:

  • Making the Santa Ana Zoo free on all Sundays, not just one Sunday per month, for our city residents
  • Opening the public libraries later during the week, at 12 noon, so that they can be open on Sundays too
  • Adding more garage sale days so our poorer residents can make some money getting rid of stuff they no longer need
  • Offering a Planning Holiday – so our residents can improve their homes without paying planning fees.  The caveat would be that they would have to buy all their supplies at stores located in Santa Ana and would have to use contractors based here in Santa Ana.  This will add to our tax base and help create more jobs
  • Using vacant retail spaces in town to house micro-libraries that would offer desks and computers with Internet access, and a way to order books from the main library by using a daily courier.  We could also offer our local police a desk at each micro-library, so they can stop by to do paperwork and interact with local children.

Your turn.  What would you do to improve Santa Ana?

Santa Ana voters reject Amezcua, the Usual Suspects and the Coalition of No

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, Elections, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The ballots have been cast and the votes tallied and Santa Ana voters sent a message that was loud and clear.  The people of the “Golden City” soundly reject Alfredo Amezcua and his followers made up of the “usual suspects”, the “Coalition of No” and the unhinged like Art Lomeli.   Yes the overwhelming victories by Mayor Miguel Pulido and Councilman Sal Tinajero demonstrate that the so-called “revolution” in Santa Ana existed only in the Amezcua echo chamber.

Amezcua ran an attack filled campaign that failed to ever demonstrate a vision or a plan for the future and his message or lack thereof failed to resonate with the voters.  Amezcua tried to portray himself as the outsider fighting for the little guy.  His followers tried to paint him as Pancho Villa or Che, but in reality he was nothing more than a Benedict Arnold.

Amezcua was the consumate city hall insider.  He did not break with Pulido until the Mayor smartly refused to take part in Amezcua’s failed banking scheme and until Pulido shook himself free of the “usual suspects”.  Amezcua eagerly welcomed top tier, front line “usual suspects” like Tim Rush, Debbie McEwen and the Stroud’s to his campaign.  Despite portraying himself as the champion of the downtrotten, he alligned himself with the very folks who have sought to screw the poor immigrant community time and again.

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