County-Sponsored Community Clean-Up in La Colonia Independencia This Saturday

The County of Orange is sponsoring a community clean-up this Saturday in the unincorporated Anaheim community of La Colonia Independencia. According to this news release from the office of Supervisor Shawn Nelson:

The County of Orange will hold a Clean-Up Day in the La Colonia  Independencia Community on Saturday, July 27, 2013, from 8:00 a.m. until the dumpsters are full.

The clean-up is sponsored by Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson, OC Public Works Neighborhood Preservation Services and OC Waste and Recycling. Dumpsters will be available at six locations and are provided by OC Waste and Recycling in cooperation with Republic Services.

Bins will be located at:

• 10841 Mac Street
• 10824 Garza Avenue
• 10872 McMurray Street
• 10901 Rustic Lane
• 10852 Harcourt Lane
• 10911 Berry Street

“By working together hand-in-hand with residents of La Colonia Independencia, OC Public Works, and OC Waste
and Recycling, we look forward to achieving our goal of safe, clean, and healthy communities across Orange
County,” commented Supervisor Nelson.

OC Labor Federation’s Tefere Gebre Being Tapped for No. 2 Spot in Nat’l AFL-CIO

Tefere Gebre of the OC Labor Federation

As executive director of the Orange County Labor Federation, Tefere Gebre has been a vocal opponent of The Honda Center‘s decision to bring in-house its food service operation – which had been contracted to Aramark, whose workers belong to the militant UNITE-HERE union.

During public comments at the May 14 Anaheim City Council meeting, Gebre falsely claimed The Honda Center made this move in order to claim Enterprise Zone job tax credits. As mentioned, Gebre’s allegation was phony, but it was picked up and echoed statewide by a credulous media that failed to check out the claim.

Today, The Huffington Post reports that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is going to tap Gebre to be the executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, with the departure from that post of Arlene Holt:

On the Lighter Side: Peacock Roams Anaheim Hills

Courtesy of the Orange County Register

On the lighter side of things, the Orange County Register published an article on a peacock that has been roaming around Anaheim Hills for a year or so:

He goes by the names Charlie, Paulie, Boo Boo and Diego. But no matter what name he’s called, Anaheim Hills residents know the community’s biggest celebrity– a peacock.

The giant bird roams a neighborhood that backs up to Deer Canyon Park, spending his day perching on roofs, cruising down the street and sleeping in trees.

Ad the article notes, the most likely explanation for the peacock’s provenance is Irvine Regional Park, which has been home to a free-roaming flock of peacocks for many years (the equestrian center in the park is named “Peacock Hill Equestrian Center”). They are beautiful birds with an lonely, eerie-sounding call, and would certainly brighten any neighborhood they called home.

Scenes from Anti-Police March in Anaheim

Nothing says “peaceful community dialogue” like berets and para-military uniforms:

1:42 pm: Speaker just told the approving crowd that “Justice is only won in the street.”

1:47 pm: the protest leaders just finished a rousing chorus of “up with the people, down with the police.”

This is like being in Berkeley. Or Oakland.

Some more photos:

A nice parent-child Sunday outing:

Plenty of Commies on hand:

2:08 pm: Rhetoric getting progressively angrier and more incendiary. Lots of references to “pigs” and “killer cops” and how they’re going to fight back. The last speaker just compared the police to Spanish conquistadores wiping out “indigenous peoples.” “Only the uniforms have changed,” he shouted.

The guy talking now is complaining about “2000 years of oppression.”

2:15 pm: this lady is giving the National Brown Berets some sort if blessing:

3:15 pm: A thug protestor grabbed my phone and yelled at me to do something about it. Some other protestor got him to give it back, realizing that assault an theft aren’t good PR for La Causa.

Since then, I’ve been intermittently harassed by masked radicals who are convinced that I am either a policeman or a fed.

At the end of this video is when the thug grabbed my phone:

Can’t upload the video

4:33 pm – This is protest is endless. The eternal parade if speakers is killing the dwindling crowd, most of whom are Cleary bored and distracted.

Adam Ant at The Grove of Anaheim Tonight

Adam Ant is playing at The City National Grove of Anaheim tonight at 7:00 p.m.

Adam Ant is one of those musical figures who are emblematic of an era, in this case the early 1980s. The catalog of New Wave classics is long:

• Stand and Deliver
• Antmusic
• Los Rancheros
• Dog Eat Dog
• Kings of the Wild Fontier
• Jolly Roger
• Goody Two Shows
• Friend or Foe

I was perusing old albums at a thrift shop near Glover Stadium during my junior year at Servite High School when I first heard of Adam and the Ants. This alternative-looking guy struck up a conversation with me, asking me if I had ever heard of Adam and the Ants, telling me how he used to be a punk rocker but once he discovered Adam and the Ants he stopped being a punker. He was kind of odd and I was more interested in extricating myself from the conversation than learning more about this band he was so enthusiastic about…a few months later I heard them for myself and have been a fan ever since.

So it was pretty cool when I was at The Catch earlier today and someone pointed out to be that Adam Ant was in the bar. I went over to where he was quietly reading a book, introduced myself and explained I was a big fan. He was very gracious and agreed to take a picture with me.

I hope any readers who are going to the concert tonight have a rockin’ New Wave evening!

AD65 Watch: Young Kim Raises $150,000 At A Single Event

Young Kim

This came over the transom this morning from the Young Kim for Assembly campaign:

Young Kim Raises $150,000 at First Event

FULLERTON, CA – – Republican Young Kim, still “testing the waters” in the 65^th Assembly district, is finding them to be very inviting. Kim raised $150,000 at her first event, held last Thursday evening in Buena Park.

“I have said all along that I will let the community decide whether I should formally enter this race and so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Kim.  “There is clearly a desire to replace the incumbent with a representative who better reflects the values and understands the needs of our district.”

Young Kim is a long time community leader in North Orange County. Young and her husband Charles Kim reside in Fullerton and have four children who attended or currently attend Fullerton’s public schools.  Kim is a key advisor to U.S. Rep. Ed Royce and a former TV talk show host and radio commentator.

“The people of our district understand that the Legislature is not working for them and not focused on the important issues,” said Kim. “There is something very wrong in Sacramento when the State Assembly wastes time debating and passing bills to force public schools to have unisex bathrooms, instead of focusing on important issues like improving education quality, helping businesses grow and create jobs, and keeping us safe.”

The 65^th district includes all or part of the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma, Fullerton, and Stanton.  It has traditionally elected Republican representatives, until 2012 when the current incumbent, Sharon Quirk-Silva, defeated former Assemblyman Chris Norby.

Ka…ching!

Anaheim constitutes 38.9% of the 65th Assembly District.

Then-Fullerton Councilmember Sharon Quirk-Silva pulled off a major upset last year when she beat incumbent Chris Norby. But it was also a bigger Democratic turn-out than it will be in 2014, and she won’t have Norby’s baggage to target next year.

Young Kim has all the qualities of a very good candidate: smart, articulate, attractive, and extremely hard-working. She has a beautiful family that will look great on mail pieces, and the strong support of her boss, Rep. Ed Royce; when Ed sets his mind to something, he gives it his full attention.

Bottom line is Quirk-Silva will have a huge fight on her hands.

Judge Continues Stay on ACLU Elections Lawsuit Against Anaheim

Judge Franz Miller has continued the stay on the ACLU lawsuit against the City of Anaheim (Moreno v Anaheim) until July 30. My understanding it is to give the city more time to implement the ordinance creating residency-based, at-large council districts.

That is good news for Anaheim, bad news for the campaign to carve the city into multiple ethnic fiefdoms. I guess Judge Miller doesn’t necessarily agree with the OCCORD/UNITE-HERE slogan that these are “fake” districts.

UPDATE:here’s the statement from the City of Anaheim about the judge’s decision:

CITY OF ANAHEIM RESPONDS TO COURT DETERMINATION TO STAY MORENO V. CITY OF ANAHEIM CASE

ANAHEIM, Calif. (July 9, 2013) Today, in the case Moreno v. City of Anaheim, Judge Franz Miller of the Orange County Superior Court held a status conference to review the City of Anaheim’s proposals and timelines to consider changing the City’s electoral system. Included today was a discussion of recent Anaheim City Council action to adopt an ordinance to immediately create residency districts for City Council elections, and to place proposed charter amendments before the voters regarding residency based districts, as well as an increase in the size of the City Council from four to six on the June 2014 ballot.

After listening to both sides, including a description of the ordinance and proposed charter amendment for residency districts and the proposed charter amendment to increase the size of the City Council, the Court further stayed any proceedings until July 30. The purpose of this stay is to provide the Anaheim City Council time to act on the second reading of the residency district ordinance at the July 23 City Council meeting, so that it would be adopted in final form. On July 30, the Judge will hold a status conference to again determine whether to entertain a further stay, potential dismissal, or consider setting a trial date and scheduling hearings on the other pending motions.

ANOTHER UPDATE: OK, not really. Just a link to this Orange Juice Blog post about Judge Miller’s decision. There’s some amusement value in reading Greg Diamond being schooled by some of the OC Weekly crew as he tries desperately to act as if he knows anything about Anaheim politics (which he doesn’t being a newcomer to OC politics with little institutional knowledge). For example, I enjoyed Greg flailing about trying to latch onto an explanation of why Richard Chavez was elected in 2002.

Report: Angel Stadium Renovations Possibly Between $120-$150 Million

According to the OC Register (quoting city officials) the estimated cost of renovating and upgrading city-owned Angel Stadium could be between $120-$150 (obviously depending on the extent and particulars of the renovations):

The city and Angels officials are determining the long-term needs of the 47-year-old stadium. A draft report shows that renovations would cost between $120 million and $150 million for fixes, ranging from a new electrical system to seats.

The report is expected to be completed in several months or perhaps a year, said Tom Morton, the city’s executive director for the Anaheim Convention Center, sports and entertainment.

The report is examining the architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical needs of the stadium, Morton said. Specific items include heating, cooling, floor tiles, escalators, elevators and seats.

The city and the Angels are splitting the $135,000 cost of the report.

Details on Anaheim’s 4th of July Parade

Courtesy of the OC Register

This year’s 4^th of July Parade will start from Canyon High School onto Imperial Highway North at 3:00 PM sharp and turn on to Santa Ana Canyon Road  West, and continue for approximately one mile to Royal Oak/Pinney.  There will be announcers at the corner of Imperial and Santa Ana Canyon Road, in front of Seven Gables Real Estate and at the Corner of Pinney and Santa Ana Canyon Road.

This year the parade will feature Dennis Kuhl, CEO of the Angels as Grand Marshal; we will also see Wild Wing in the Honda Center Duck Truck, and a very special Celebrity Grand Marshal from Disneyland.

Also joining the Parade will be Mayor Tom Tait and the Anaheim City Council.  Council Woman Lucille Kring is this year’s 4^th of July Event Chairperson and her Policy Aide Margaret Hoien is the Parade Chair, for the seventh time in the last ten years.

Anaheim Police, Fire, Public Works, Utilities, Volunteer Police will all be there, as well as Corvettes and Camaros from local car clubs and we will see Miss California 2012!   Several local churches and Patriotic Bands will also be there, so bring your folding chairs, sunscreen, snacks and WATER and set up on the North side of Santa Ana Canyon Road for a great Parade this year!   Many parade entries will not be making the turn to go back up Santa Ana Canyon to Canyon High School, so to be sure and see the entire parade, be sure to set up on the north side of Santa Ana Canyon Road.

Come out and enjoy the Parade this 4th of July !

Brandman Appoints Ernesto Medrano to Charter Review Committee

I’ve learned that Councilman Jordan Brandman has appointed Ernesto Medrano to the Charter Review Committee.

Medrano is the political director of Teamsters Local 952 (the Orange County local) and a flatlands resident.

Brandman’s first appointee was former Mayor Curt Pringle to the CRC, but Pringle later withdrew earlier this week.

[Apologies for the brevity of the post. I’m typing on an iPhone.]

OC Taxpayers Association Meeting Today: Assemblyman Tom Daly and OC Treasurer Shari Freidenrich

The OC Taxpayers Association has its general membership meeting this afternoon from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Zov’s Bistro in Tustin.

The guests are Assemblyman Tom Daly and OC Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari Freidenrich.

In light of today’s events in the Assembly, some questions from those in attendance are in order.

State Gov’t Assault On Honda Center, Enterprise Zones Nothing New

The constitutional order of limited government established by the Founders was so enduring in large part because it was grounded in an unsparing, unromantic understanding of human nature and a realization that it doesn’t change with the passage of time (in stark contrast to the dangerous progressive belief that humanity is malleable). That is why their insights remain just as applicable and relevant more than two centuries later.

This truth is vividly illustrated in a speech given in 1787 by Benjamin Franklin at the Constitutional Convention. it is truly prophetic and dwells on the same human passions animating the state government’s frightening coercion of  Anaheim Arena Management and its gutting of the Enterprise Zones in Anaheim and 39 other California cities:

And of what kind are the men that will strive for this profitable preeminence, through all the bustle of cabal, the heat of contention, the infinite mutual abuse of parties, tearing to pieces the best of characters? It will not be the wise and moderate, the lovers of peace and good order, the men fittest for the trust. It will be the bold and the violent, the men of strong passions and indefatigable activity in their selfish pursuits. These will thrust themselves into your government and be your rulers. And these, too, will be mistaken in the expected happiness of their situation, for their vanquished competitors, of the same spirit, and from the same motives, will perpetually be endeavoring to distress their administration, thwart their measures, and render them odious to the people. 

Anaheim Enterprise Zone At Risk from Grasping State Government

This came over the transom earlier from the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce:

Action Alert!

Anaheim Enterprise Zone is Being Threatened…

Some Senate Democrats have struck a deal with Governor Jerry Brown to abolish Enterprise Zones and replace them with a plan full of empty promises. Today, the Senate Budget Committee is expected to meet and adopt Assembly Bill 93 – the Governor’s May Budget Revise plan that guts Enterprise Zones as we know them. The full Senate is meeting today at 4 p.m. to hear the sweeping change.

Your voice must be heard TODAY!

Please click the above link to send your letter of opposition to your representatives by 3:30 p.m.

We need to flood our representative’s inbox so we are urging you to take action now or risk losing one of Anaheim’s key tools for creating, attracting and retaining jobs.

Sincerely,
Todd Ament
President & CEO
Anaheim Chamber of Commerce

Conservative blogger Jon Fleischman also weighed in on this issue on his FlashReport.org blog:

OCTA Board Continues Anaheim Streetcar Vote for Two Weeks

Earlier this morning, the OCTA Board of Directors voted to continue its decision on approving the Anaheim City Council’s approval of the streetcar option as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the Anaheim Rapid Connection system.

Several directors had concerns and questions they wanted more time to have answered. I’ll have more later.

Unintended Consequences of Misapplied Transparency

Some are calling for slapping on members of the newly forming Charter Review Committee (CRC) the requirement to file a Form 700. For the uninitiated, the Form 700 is a financial disclosure formed that an elected officials and certain classes of appointed officials – such as planning commissioners — must complete on an annual basis.

In reality, this proposed requirement is being aimed at a single individual, former Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle; if he had not been appointed by Councilman Jordan Brandman, I don’t think anyone can seriously claim the Form 700 requirement would be proposed for a temporary committee with only advisory powers. It has no say over city spending or the awarding of city contracts.

There are a number of reasons why this requirement is a bad idea for a committee like the CRC, but the e-mail below from venomous council gadfly William Fitzgerald, head of the one-man “organization” Anaheim HOME, vividly illustrates one of them. Fitzgerald sent this e-mail to Voice of OC reporter Adam Elmahrek and then forwarded it a number of others:

Interim City Attorney Michael Houston Selected Permanent Post

In other news…yesterday, Interim City Attorney Michael Houston was selected for the permanent City Attorney post. Now all that remains is the final negotiations.

Congratulations to Mike, who is an excellent choice for the position. He is smart, savvy, ethical and quick, and will serve the people of Anaheim and all members of the City Council with equal ardor.

City Council Makes Their Charter Review Committee Appointees

Last night, Mayor Tom Tait and the members of the city council named five of the seven members of the Charter Review Committee (CRC). Each has one appointee to the CRC; those five will then name the remaining two -at-large members from the current pool of  applicants. Here are the appointees:

Mayor Tom Tait: Tom Dunn

Mayor Pro Tem Gail Eastman: Keith Oleson

Councilmember Kris Murray: Craig Farrow

Councilmember Jordan Brandman: Curt Pringle

Councilmember Lucille Kring: Amanda Edinger

Brandman iterated that he wanted the CRC to take up “general governance in addition to a line-by-line review of the entire charter…particular council administration responsibilities, there needs to be some updating of the charter.” He also stated he’d like the CRC to look at refining term limits, referencing some “glitches” (possibly a reference to how Anaheim’s term limits prohibits a councilmember from running for mayor in the middle of his or her second term). Brandman also expressed a desire for the CRC to look at standardizing city boards and commissions, and wants to take council districts off the table for the CRC, since the council is already dealing with that issue.

Kring disagreed with the last point and said she’d like council districts and council structure to remain within the CRC’s purview.

Mayor Tait asked to have the resolution creating the CRC brought back at the next council meeting to add a provision requiring CRC members to fill out a Form 700. Since the CRC is an advisory body of temporary duration, members are not required to completed these invasive forms. I don’t believe there is any reason to require it because the CRC is, as stated, advisory and temporary. It has no authority over the expenditure of funds, awarding of contracts, imposition of regulations, etc. The city council can take or leave its recommendations as it chooses.

No Form 700 filing requirement was imposed on members of the Anaheim Citizens Advisory Committee, and its charge was just as serious and central to the nature of Anaheim city government. So why the CRC and not the CAC? That’s a recommendation that should be politely rejected.

UNITE-HERE/OCCORD Thuggishness On Full Display At Council Meeting

I’m at the Anaheim City Council meeting, where they are considering various proposed ballot measure regarding the size of the council and the method of electing it.

The most striking thing about tonight is the sheer thuggishness of the crowd assembled by OCCORD and UNITE-HERE. I’ve been around politics a long time, and I have rarely seen not only such mob conduct, but mob conduct that is so obviously being condoned and encouraged by the leadership of these organizations. It is a clear attempt to intimidate others from expressing opinions not sanction by this militant union and it’s off-shoot non-profit.

It’s been a chaotic council meeting, with the rules of public conduct changing from minute to minute. The union mob just feeds on the disorder.

UPDATE: Joanna Sosa from “Take Back Anaheim” stopped just short of calling for an armed uprising.

UPDATE: the director of Latino Health Access is calling for single-member districts, and think they will lead to improved public health. I’m amazed at the magical properties its advocates ascribe to single-member districts. She said she works in Santa Ana and that at-large districts don’t work in Santa Ana. She said single-member districts would ensure those districts receive services.

She might want to look at the example of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who is relentlessly being isolated by his council colleagues. Guess what would happen in an Anaheim of single-member districts? A councilmember who fell afoul of his/her colleagues – as Pulido has with his – would suffer the same fate. Or, I should say, their constituents would pay the price – and the rest of the council would suffer no repercussions at the polls.

UPDATE: one of the OCCORD speakers is complaining they aren’t being heard, which is probably because her OCCORD/UNITE-HERE comrades have been making so much noise in the council chamber.

She also complained that no one told her she needed to sign a “time card” to speak – notwithstanding that the issue of “time cards” (speaker cards) has been brought up repeatedly.

UPDATE: one of the comical aspects of tonight’s meeting is the assertions of a number of the OCCORD/UNITE-HERE speakers denying they are being coordinated by those groups, while simultaneously the big UNITE-HERE staffer signals them which message placard to hold up.

UPDATE: Jose Moreno is up and saying, among other things, that the lawsuit in which he is lead plaintiff was filed because councilmembers wouldn’t (he says) “engage” with him on the issue. The question that comes to my mind is: if they had engaged with him and still declined to support single-member council districts, would he NOT have filed the lawsuit? Or is the real issue that he did not receive the answer he wanted?

UPDATE: Jose Moreno just told Kris Murray that because just three Latinos have been elected to the city council in 150 years, then he considers his vote to have been “diluted.” The inescapable logic of that statement is that he believes representation is a function of race – otherwise why would his vote have been diluted?

Then, a few seconds later, he said the opposite: that Latinos having adequate representation on the council doesn’t mean they have to elect Latinos.

Which is it?

Moreno then said that in the various school districts serving Anaheim, he pointed out he’s the only “Spanish-speaking, Spanish-dominant, Latino-surnamed” on their elected boards.

Does anyone else find that zoological approach to classifying people by race and language unsettling?

Moreno then challenged Lucille Kring and Gail Eastman when they said that a trustee on one of those boards by the name of Trujillo was a Latina. “Are you certain of that? Are you certain of that?” he asked them repeatedly. The Ethnicity Police are in the house!

UPDATE: The Council just voted 3-2 against the proposed charter amendments (Tait and Brandman voting “yes”). The OCCORD/UNITE-hERE remnant erupted in a chant of “no fake districts, no more delays!” and marched out of the chamber and out to the courtyard. As I type, OCCORD honcho Eric Altman is exhorting the comrades.

Now they’re yelling “We’ll be back” – although I think I am the only one who heard them.

UPDATE: Kris Murray is moving an alternate motion (if I heard it right) to place on the June 2014 ballot a measure to increase the council to six members, elected at-large from residency-based districts.

The question was called and the vote was 4-1 in favor (Mayor Tait being the lone dissent).

Assemblyman Don Wagner Urges Anaheim To Reject Council Districts

Assemblyman Don Wagner sent this letter, suffused with common sense and clear thinking,  to Mayor Tom Tait and the Anaheim City Council, urging them to reject single-member council districts:

June 11, 2013

Dear Mayor Tait and Council Members,

I write to express my reservations about the plan before you tonight with respect to district voting.

My principal concern is that district rather than at large voting might actually divide rather than unite a community. Having served previously in local government, I know well the importance of all members of a governing body having a direct stake in the decisions they take, a stake created by a direct relationship with the voters. To the extent that relationship is weakened, neighborhoods or discrete communities can be pitted against each other and special interests can more easily achieve functional control over a governing body. That is obviously not a desirable result. Moreover, the damage this can do is not outweighed by the asserted benefits of district voting.

I frankly doubt that potentially lessening an Anaheim council member’s ties to the whole of Anaheim — indeed, potentially rendering those ties irrelevant to election to office — is a move in the right direction. Accordingly, I urge the council to reject any such districting proposal. 

Thank you for your consideration, and thank you for your service to our shared constituents. 

Sincerely,

Don

Donald P. Wagner

Assembly Member, 68th District  

Kudos to Assemblyman Don Wagner, one of the rare elected Republicans in Orange County who recognizes what the push for single-member council districts is all about and is speaking up.

Anaheim City Council Should Reject Anti-“Citizens United” Resolution

Overlooked in all the hubbub over ballot initiatives and council districts at tonight’s Anaheim City Council meeting is a proposed resolution on the consent calendar which, if approved, would put the city council on record as opposing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in the Citizens United case.

Citizens United struck down federal campaign finance law prohibiting independent expenditure campaigns by corporations and unions, and ruled that the federal government cannot limit spending by corporations, unions, associations or individuals to influence elections. Citizens United was a resounding affirmation of our constitution right to free political speech.

The resolution states that Citizens United was bad for good government and calls for more federal regulations and restrictions on campaign contributions and spending — up to and including amending the U.S. Constitution.

Campaign finance “reform” is The God That Failed. It is based on the false premise that money in  politics is inherently bad and that they path to good, clean government is by having the government tightly regulate when, how and how much we can contribute in order to influence who we elected to govern us.