Downtown Santa Ana’s gentrification mob wants you to believe that they are not racist but the reality is that they have hated Mexicans forever and gentrifying the Downtown simply provided them with a means to an end.
One of them admitted as much when they sent a hate package to O.C. Register reporter Alejandra Molina. They scribbled over an article she wrote about the gentrification of our Downtown, scribbling this hateful message, “We made it over the border, whoopee…or our parents did.”
Now Santa Ana’s haters are riled up about the Santa Ana Wellness District. One of our readers forwarded us a particularly vitriolic message from a fellow named Tim Rush. Rush was one of many neighborhood activists who supported the illegal street barricades that were installed in Santa Ana’s French Park – to keep Mexicans out. The barricades had to be taken down after the ACLU beat the haters in court.
The L.A. Times reported in 2006 that Rush made 300 telephone calls in 24 months to City Hall, complaining about his Latino neighbors.
The irony of all this is that Rush himself was busted a few years ago for charges related to real estate fraud. But I guess he and his supporters are OK with white collar crime?
Now Rush is angry about the Wellness Corridor. Here is what he had to say about it in the email that was forwarded to us by a reader:
Many of you have heard of this initiative which is being led by Latino Health Access. While it has a title which sounds terrific, and one which anyone would want to embrace, it is far from homespun. I encourage you to do a bit of research on this socialist diatribe, simply Google “Santa Ana Wellness Corridor” and do some reading.
This was launched on the 19th of November of last year and comes before the City Council for a vote this coming Tuesday. The backers want the blessing of the Council so they can continue to ratchet up their campaign of terror to reverse the “Economic Spring” that has come to blossom in our fair city over the past several years.
This Wellness Corridor resolution seeks among other things to control values of real estate, change the name of Fourth Street to what they claim is “the historic roots of the downtown as ‘Calle Cuatro.” Any and all activities for Latino/Hispanic themed events are to be given preferential treatment.
This resolution is abhorrent to our democratic way of life. It is an affront to what this nation stands for, and it is downright racist. Latino Health Access (LHA) would have you believe that their motives are pure and altruistic, but one has to question why they would push such a divisive measure upon the citizenry?
We know that the economy is cyclical and that our downtown like tens of thousands across the country suffered hugely as changes in shopping/demographic fluctuations occurred. This manifested itself with the flight of the Anglo merchants to South Coast Plaza, SA Fashion Square/now MainPlace, and new communities east of us.
As the economic world doesn’t like a vacuum, why the empty storefronts soon became filled with merchants catering to largely Hispanic clientele. This happened between 1966-1980+-.
Well…….the world has changed, and those customers had children who largely don’t want the same shopping experience. That is why our downtown has been suffering so badly over the past fifteen years or so. The only thing missing was a funeral. So new thinking, new merchandising has brought us this wonderful wave of new restaurants, the Artists Village, Grand Central Arts, new retail etc.
Unfortunately there are those who believe they have been targeted to move. Which is untrue. Simply property owners after suffering tremendous losses for years have seen an opportunity to market their space to cutting edge retail and restaurateurs who want to try something new have been embraced.
The much bandied word “gentrification” has been used to ratchet up the Fahrenheit on the dialogue. What is puzzling about all of this is that the facts seem not to matter. I am told that something like two thirds of the business licenses that have been pulled in the last few years are minority proprietors! In addition we know that Latino Health Access has also partnered with outside agitators from Los Angeles who are paying for baby sitters, feeding the agitators dinner and busing them in to Council meetings.
We strongly believe they will be in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. It is safe to say there are enough passionate voices on this of people who live and work in town, we certainly don’t need outsiders to stir the pot. We deserve a downtown that is vibrant, creative, welcoming to all, unique and HISTORIC (Our downtown was the first OC Downtown to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places).
We deserve a downtown that is economically viable. Santa Ana’s reputation as an “Economic Reservation for the County” is not something to be celebrated. We are on the cusp of a terrific wave of upscale eateries and retail options. I encourage each of you as strongly as I can to either come down to the Council meeting this Tuesday at 5;45 pm and speak out on this dubious document called The Wellness Corridor. It will set us back as a community, it is a blueprint for failure both as a downtown and more importantly as a city.
If you are unable to attend the meeting, then please take a few minutes to send an email to the Clerk of the Council addressing the Mayor & Council Members at; mhuizar@santa-ana.org Please voice your concerns as Latino Health Access is going to fill the room with folks advocating for what sounds like a very wonderful and innocent resolution. But the document is a Trojan Horse filled with multiple schemes to keep our downtown divided, to lower the bar of expectations for our citizens and to create more economic hardship. This keeps the poor, poor…….and organizations like LHA in business pushing their brand of socialism. The City Council needs to hear from us that we have worked and supported our downtown and we like the way it is headed. We don’t need or want this resolution for economic cancer.
If you want to know what the Wellness District proposal is really all about don’t trust Rush and his band of Mexican-hating friends. Click here and read about it for yourself. And click here to show your support for the Wellness District.
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Editor – You should be ashamed of yourself – that is if you still call yourself a libertarian. Tim Rush is right. This so-called “Wellness Corridor” is dressed up racist socialism.
Redevelopment funds were used to build the Grand Central Arts Center and the Memphis restaurant. And government funds were also used by the Chase family over the years.
The Wellness Corridor is about using the Downtown to serve the people who live here. What’s wrong with that?
I noticed that you have not posted the City’s response to this preposterous proposal.
I didn’t know there was one. I’ll check it out.
I will email it to you.
HUD Funds were used to build the Police Department which is why the Homeless are still in the Civic Center while the House of PD houses 300-400 officers. That is exactly the number of Homeless outside. 80 million in Redevelopment Funds were stolen from South Main Street and poor Mr. Peebler died before he could see that he and the other South Main Merchants were swindled out of being able to redevelop the street and fix the facades and they only recently settled the case at 5 million dollars.The Chases and Santa Ana are lucky that the Santa Ana Business Council didn’t sue them for the PBID and the Facade program that stole the downtown businesses money to fix up their facades. Talk about Subsidy. Taxing the Rich is the only way that the Marshal Plan worked to get America back on its feet after the Great Depression. Now we subsidize the Rich and allow them to manufacture the market even though they ignore the actual market and call that friendly business practices. It think the problem here is what DiAngelo calls ” White Fragility:” http://www.alternet.org/culture/why-white-people-freak-out-when-theyre-called-out-about-race
Editor – Have you even read the actual Wellness Corridor proposal? You don’t have it in this posted article. Read the actual proposal. If you are still a libertarian it should curl your hair. I will send that to you as well.
Complaining to the City Council that this is a liberal proposal seems nuts when you consider that the Council members are all Democrats.
The only way the SA council could approve this proposal is if they are full blown racist communists.
Well making Republican-sounding demands of them seems like a ridiculous tactic.
Editor – “Well making Republican-sounding demands of them seems like a ridiculous tactic.”
The only people making demands are the communists.
Happy Easter Editor.
Are you going to post the actual “Wellness Corridor” proposal and the City’s response?
Yes. In the meantime be sure to vote in our online poll. http://newsantaana.com/2015/03/15/poll-should-dtsa-be-a-wellness-district-or-a-drinking-district/
http://santaana.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=350&meta_id=18606
http://santaana.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=350&meta_id=18611
Above are links to the actual “Wellness Corridor” proposal and the City’s response.
It’s called the “Santa Ana Wellness District”
“Through the Wellness District strategy, the City will foster downtown retail, services and activities that are healthy, vibrant, and are of an authentic Latino character, thereby also attracting and retaining a broader base of destination visitors and customers to Santa Ana’s historic and unique downtown ..”
Let me get this right – “if you make it Latino they will come.” Didn’t they already try that and it failed?
Funny that you’ve opined that it failed. That’s right out of the Chase/Gentrifier playbook. It doesnt surprise me that white folk want Latinos out. They’ve wanted that for years. But, both can coexist, if the gentrifiers are open to it.
Latino influence is there – I don’t see it going away. I think that is a good thing.
There is a big difference between the concept of a “Wellness District” and the former “Fiesta Marketplace”. It is like the difference between Burger King and Boldo Bowl. Are only white people and jewish people and Gay Males allowed to think and act progressively?
Also, lets laugh off this hysteria about “terrorists” and just address the “anti -Democratic” accusations. Did the city of Santa Ana put both the funding and official branding of the Artists Village to a public vote by the residents and voting citizens of Santa Ana?
Hell no! That is not how municipal politics works and the hypocrites need to be called out.
I have read the “market study” presented by Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities. In my opinion it has little to do with “wellness” and much to do with re-engineering an existing successful economic model.
This study is not a fair representation of economic activity (the market) of downtown Santa Ana. It is not a scientific study at all. It is opinion and conjecture designed to produce a predetermined outcome. It is an attempt to urge government to force an economic model in opposition to an established marketplace trend. This will not succeed.
The study proposes to support a “Latino Revival.” The last time I looked the “Latino spirit” was, thankfully, alive and well in Downtown Santa Ana.
An existing thriving marketplace like Santa Ana’s downtown would be better served by an unbiased study that would look at what is working – and what can be enhanced to work better for residents, commuters and visitors to Downtown Santa Ana.
It was funny to hear Latino activists plead – “we’re not racists!”
– ha ha – tables turned
I believe our DTSA has too many bars and fast food places already. It needs more places that are modern, high-tech, innovative and forward-looking where our young people can get skills that are more relevant to the future than waiting on tables and washing dishes. I am tired of hearing about drunk people and brawls in the street in our beautiful Arts District. Santa Ana should not be known as the place you go to get beaten to death in front of a bar, ever again.
We want better for our young people and their future!!! They have so much more to offer.