Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Category Archives: Civic Affairs

The Santa Ana City Council majority will try to change our ward maps before they term out

Posted on by Posted in Ballot Measures, Civic Affairs, Elections, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The Santa Ana City Council majority

The Santa Ana City Council majority has voted to start drawing up plans to place a measure on the November ballot to change our City Council elections to a ward-specific model.

But that’s not all. Most of the Santa Ana City Council majority is going to term out in November. But now they want to change our ward maps before they leave City Hall. The last time they did this Councilman Sal Tinajero made sure to remove Asian voters from his Ward. What shenanigans will they be up to this time? Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council decides to sue the County and several cities over the homeless issue

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Courts, Housing, Huntington Beach, irvine, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Santa Ana Council Calls for Legal Action on Homelessness. City to Sue County of Orange, Irvine, Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach

SANTA ANA, CA – On Tuesday night, Santa Ana City Council directed the City’s legal counsel to move forward with a lawsuit against the County of Orange and the cities of Irvine, Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach for their opposition to sheltering the homeless on available County land. A County plan to locate three temporary homeless shelters in each homeless services region of the County had been adopted earlier in March but was subsequently rescinded by the County Board of Supervisors following opposition from those cities. The City’s legal action seeks to compel the parties to take action rather than merely say “no” to being part of the solution. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council’s latest attempt to extend their term limits got punked again

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Ballot Measures, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, Jose Solorio, Miguel Pulido, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento Leave a comment

The Santa Ana City Council Majority

The Santa Ana City Council Majority – which now includes Council Members David Benavides, Jose Solorio, Vince Sarmiento and Sal Tinajero, tried once again yesterday to illegally extend their term limits by trying to place a last-minute district election measure on the June ballot.

They were previously punked by Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido when he refused to sign off on their vote to place the measure on the June ballot. A judge recently forced Pulido to finally sign those papers but the June election ballot submission deadline had already expired.  Continue reading→

The O.C. armory homeless shelter program has been extended for another 90 days

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Jerry Brown, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community: Governor Brown Acts to Extend Armory Shelter Program in Orange County

SANTA ANA, CA – Last week, the City of Santa Ana sent a letter requesting that the California National Guard consider the approval of an extension of the Orange County Cold Weather Armory Emergency Shelter Program for at least 90 days past the scheduled April 15, 2018 closure. This was followed up this week by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (District 65) and Assemblymember Tom Daly (District 69) requesting support from the Governor to make this request a reality.

“Now is not the time to turn our backs on some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. “I truly appreciate the Governor’s fast response to this request,” said Assemblymember Tom Daly. Continue reading→

An early look at this November’s Santa Ana City Council candidates

Posted on by Posted in 2018 elections, Civic Affairs, David Benavides, David Penaloza, Irma Macias, Laura Kanter, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Mirna Velasquez, Phil Bacerra, Politics, Sal Tinajero, Sandra Pena, Santa Ana 2 Comments

It looks like the Santa Ana City Council majority will not be able to put a district election measure on the June ballot after all. A judge ruled today that Mayor Miguel Pulido should have signed their paperwork submitting the district election measure to the O.C. Voter Registrar. But it is too late for that measure to make it to the June ballot, according to the O.C. Register.

What this means is that Council Members Michele Martinez, David Benavides and Sal Tinajero are going to term out this November. They will have to be replaced in the November election.

Here are the Santa Ana City Council candidates that I am aware of at the moment: Continue reading→

Santa Ana public community budget meetings announced

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Community Meetings on City Budget – Presentaciónes para la Comunidad sobre el Presupesto de la Ciudad

The community is invited to participate in the upcoming Community Budget Meetings:

• Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at the Santa Ana Bowling Club
(2615 Valencia St.) at 7:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at Madison Elementary School
(1124 E. Hobart St.) at 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, April 12, 2018 at Adams Elementary School
(2130 S. Raitt St.) at 6:00 p.m.
• Thursday. April 26, 2108 at the Santa Ana Police Dept.
Community Room (60 Civic Center Plaza) at 7:00 p.m. Continue reading→

What we learned during this weekend’s homeless count in Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Juan Villegas, Santa Ana 1 Comment

IMPORTANT statistics regarding the homeless count over the weekend

By: Santa Ana City Councilman Juan Villegas

Citywide Key Findings:

  • Total Unsheltered Count: 1,030 people.
  • 564 Additional Homeless in Santa Ana since the January 2017 PIT (466 people)
  • 81.8% are chronically homeless (one year or more)
  • 52% reported their last permanent residence was outside the City of Santa Ana
  • Compared to the last PIT Count, we have more unsheltered women

Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana wants your help to count the homeless on Saturday at 4 a.m.

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Santa Ana 1 Comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Homeless Count Volunteer Opportunity Tomorrow: Are you an early riser?

The City of Santa Ana is executing a Point-in-Time Count of the homeless population across the City of Santa Ana tomorrow morning. As you know, the City it working to address homelessness both here and across the County. A count of the homeless in our community is a part of that effort. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council voted to consider suing the County regarding the homeless problem

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Santa Ana to Evaluate Legal Options to Address Countywide Homeless Inaction

City Council Strikes Back for Shared Responsibility

SANTA ANA, CA – The Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously (6-0-1) to seek legal options for the City to motivate the entire Orange County community to take action on homelessness. The City Attorney is to return back to the Council on Tuesday, April 3rd with legal options to sue the County of Orange to force additional action to spread the responsibility of homeless solutions across the county. The action comes in response to the County Board of Supervisors’ March 27 vote to rescind a prior decision to create three temporary homeless shelters throughout Orange County. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council to discuss the homeless crisis at a special meeting on Friday

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Santa Ana City Council is conducting a special City Council meeting this Friday, March 30, 2018, at 9 a.m., at their Council chambers, located at 22 Civic Center Plaza.

The first half of this meeting is a closed session during which time the City Council will talk about their plans to illegally place a ballot measure on the June Primary ballot so they can extend their term limits.

The second half of the meeting gets more interesting. They are going to allow the public to comment as the City Council considers what they are calling a Short Term Homeless Plan. Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana has updated its Down Payment Assistance Home Loan Program

Posted on by Posted in Banking, Civic Affairs, Real Estate, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: City Of Santa Ana Down Payment Assistance Loan Program/ Préstamo de Asistencia Para Pago Inicial de Casa

The City of Santa Ana is pleased to announce an update to the Down Payment Assistance Loan Program that provides special financing to purchase your first home. The Program offers zero percent, deferred payment loans of up to $80,000 for Low Income Households and up to $40,000 for Moderate Income Households. In addition, the new “Returning Student Incentive” offers $10,000 in loan forgiveness every five years up to $40,000 maximum loan forgiveness to 4-year college graduates who graduated from a high school located in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Find out how broke Santa Ana is at a community budget meeting on March 29

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community: Community Meeting on City Budget / Presentación Comunitaria Sobre el Presupesto de la Ciudad

The community is invited to participate in the upcoming Community Meeting on the City’s Budget on Thursday, March 29, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers (22 Civic Center Plaza). This meeting is being held in accordance with the Sunshine Ordinance, which implements additional measures aimed at making city government more transparent.

Topics to be covered include: Continue reading→

The OC Board of Supervisors voted today to oppose California’s Sanctuary State law

Posted on by Posted in california, Civic Affairs, Crime, immigration, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 27, 2018

Contact: Denis Bilodeau, 714-749-6386

Orange County Supervisors votes to join the Department of Justice litigation against California State Law Senate Bill 54 “California Values Act”

SANTA ANA, CA— Today on a vote of 4-0, the Board of Supervisors authorized and directed County Counsel to intervene in the pending case United States v. California, Case #18-264 on behalf of the County of Orange. The Department of Justice’s lawsuit seeks to restore the federal government’s Constitutional authority and sole jurisdiction over immigration issues and end the existing conflict that local law enforcement encounters with state law. The County of Orange seeks to join this lawsuit. Continue reading→

The OC Board of Supervisors decided not to move the homeless out of Santa Ana

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Crime, homeless, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

City of Santa Ana

Community: Homeless Solution Can Kicked Further Down the Road. Santa Ana Calls For Countywide Action on Homelessness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 27, 2018

Media Contact: Jorge Garcia, Assistant to the City Manager, (714) 586-6321

SANTA ANA, CA – Today, the Orange County Board of Supervisors reversed last week’s vote to designate three additional sites throughout Orange County as potential temporary homeless shelters. The action creates further delays in addressing a growing homelessness problem that the entire County is facing. The Board plans to revisit the matter in early April. Continue reading→

Santa Ana residents urged to speak at tomorrow’s Board of Supervisor meeting regarding the homeless

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, homeless, Michele Martinez, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Urgent Call to Action: Santa Ana we need to stand up and say no more…. Enough is enough!

By: Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez

Santa Ana has provided the largest share of assistance by any city in the county.

The Civic Center is the living room of Orange County but unfortunately, it has become ground zero for the homeless population. This regional crisis is impacting the quality of life for all residents, employees and visitors of Santa Ana.

I want to encourage all Santa Ana residents to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting this coming Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at 9am and ask the board to adopt a comprehensive homeless policy that states, “The County supports the equitable distribution of facilities and services throughout the Region, so that no one jurisdiction or community is impacted by providing more than its fair share of facilities and services”. Continue reading→