In a blog post, titled: ‘These Are the 7 Biggest Fears That You Need To Avoid Having In Your Twenties’ on the website Elite Daily, Kim Pham called on people her age to stop being fearful, according to the Daily Mail, a newspaper in London.
But that was written before she was beaten into a coma while the 23-year old graduate of Chapman University was waiting to enter the hipster bar/restaurant called The Crosby, last Friday night.
Santa Ana landlord Irv Chase and his pals gathered up $5K from under their sofa cushions as a reward for tips about who murdered Pham, but the reality is that Chase and company will now have to spend $5 million to restore the reputation of Downtown Santa Ana. The murder of Pham has gone worldwide.
Don’t believe me? Just do a Google search of Pham’s name. You will see that the story has been run all over the United States, Europe and Asia. Now do a Google search of “Downtown Santa Ana.” No mention of the artists village or the alleged clean-up of the Downtown by Chase and his merry hipsters. Instead the search result is a slew of articles about Pham’s murder. Try searching for “The Crosby, Santa Ana” and the results are the same.
There is no putting this mess back in Pandora’s box. Downtown Santa Ana’s image has been permanently wrecked, in one fell swoop, by five murderous bar patrons.
I don’t see how The Crosby will be able to reopen. They may have to change their name. Their brand will now forever be associated with the brutal murder of a beautiful young woman from Westminster.
Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez represents Downtown Santa Ana. She is up for re-election this November. Good luck with that. And what about Councilman David Benavides? Just a few months ago that guy was pushing to keep bars open until 4 am! Santa Ana Planning Commissioner Phil Bacerra is still pushing for that and he is running around town, allegedly, telling everyone that everything is going to be OK. No it’s not Phil! Not for Chase and the other gentrifiers.
It is time for the people of Santa Ana to take back this city and this Downtown. The bar culture has been exposed for what it is – a hot mess. And if you think folks are just going to return to how things were before Pham’s murder, think again. That ship has sailed.
