Anaheim Life

OC Then

2010-05-05T12:58:00.001-07:00

Here is a blog I had not seen before-OC Then. Enjoy.
http://www.octhen.com/search/label/Anaheim

Anaheim Epicurean School Offers Summer Program for Locals!

2010-05-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

Local Flavors-Downtown Anaheim Farmers Market Tour/Cooking Class

The new Epicurean School here in downtown Anaheim is sharing some of the best vegetable recipes for Spring. But first, a trip to the Farmers Market to pick up some fresh produce...you’re gonna love it. Call for details. Thursday, May 6 from 5:30-8:30p.m. and May 20 from 11a.m.-2p.m. Class is $75

TABLE FOR TWO
Here's a twist for "date night"...instead of another average meal at another average restaurant-come and cook a meal together, it's fun. Then, sit down and relax, have a nice bottle of wine. Menu: Red leaf Caesar salad with herbed croutons and Parmesan crisps, eggplant timbales, risotto with asparagus and mushroom ragout, lamb skewers with caramelized shallot and thyme crust, chicken picatta, and for dessert.... chocolate souffle!Saturday, May 15 6:30-9:30 p.m. $150/couple

Make your reservations to:
Tina Hashioka
Epicurean School of Culinary Arts
http://www.epicureanschool/ .com
NOW OPEN IN ANAHEIM!

Central District Neghborhood Council THIS WEEK!

2010-04-27T10:52:00.001-07:00

Please join us this Wednesday at 7pm at the Downtown Community Center for our Neighborhood Council Meeting

A Few Invitations From Anaheim Historical Society

2010-04-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

Anaheim Historical Society Event Tonight!

Dick Dodd, local architect and contributor to the Orange County Register, will offer a PowerPoint presentation on the topic of his book, ³Architectural Styles Orange County² the first comprehensive guide to the evolution of residential styles in our area.

Tuesday Evening, April 20th at 7pm

at Loara Elementary School Auditorium

1601 W. Broadway, Anaheim, CA 92802

Learn how we evolved from the humble adobe homes of pioneering days to today¹s modern residential marvels. Find out about some of our finest architects and visionary builders who made their mark on the world from Orange County. Admission to this event is free and the public is welcome.

Please contact AHS President Helen Myers 714/774-2077. Refreshments will be

served.

In May, you¹re invited to join the Anaheim Historical Society for a traditional spring tea catered by Locke & Nobel Tea Company on the back lawn of the home of AHS Vice President Joyce Morris and her family in the Five Points Historic District of Anaheim.

Sunday Afternoon, May 23rd at 1pm

at the Molt-Morris House

in the Five Points Historic District

1100 W. Center St. (Lincoln & West), Anaheim, CA 92805

Along with the tea, there will be a talk on the history of Five Points. The tea will cost $22 per person and reservations must be received by April 23rd so that all the baking can be completed. Please send your name, phone number and check to the AHS at PO Box 927, Anaheim, CA 92815. For more information

please call Joyce or Robert Morris at 714/772-1420. Parking can be a challenge (carpool if you can) but there is generally some on West St. or in the cul de sac on Center. The entrance to the backyard is behind house on West.

Any questions on the tea, you can email Mrs. Morris at ambrwd (at) sbcglobal (dot) net

And in June:

Save the Date of Friday, June 11th for our Annual Banquet to be held at

Bella Marri¹s in downtown Anaheim.

More details to follow soon!

Hope to see you all at these events!

Joyce Morris

AHS Vice President

WAND 4th District Candidate's Forum

2010-04-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

Recapping last night’s 4th District Supervisor’s forum, in frustration, as I had videotaped much of it and the file is corrupted, so I am working from my few notes. Maybe my camera knows better than I do?

About 200-250 people attended the Candidate’s Forum last night, hosted by WAND (West Anaheim Neighborhood Development Council) and moderated by the League of Women Voters, who got a chuckle when they announced they also accept men. The WAND event is always well attended no matter what race they are highlighting, it seems to be the place where Anaheim’s “informed voters” show up. I think all of the elected Neighborhood Council chairs were present, as well as many Board and Commissions members. This is the crowd the candidates need to impress, as their endorsement might not mean much to the general public, but a sign on one of these lawns can mean another hundred or so votes from those in the neighborhood who know those residents stay involved.

All 6 candidates attended. Questions came from the audience on index cards, and Candidates had 2 minutes to answer each. It is surprising how much information one can glean from those 2 minutes, primarily how very little most of the candidates know about County government and its functions. To his credit, Harry Sidhu appears to have been working with some sort of coach, his answers have become much more polished, primarily because they are canned responses, most likely written for him. Of the candidates, only Shawn Nelson arrived with no notes or talking points, ready to answer questions spontaneously. Frankly that is gutsier than I would ever try, and kudos to him for largely pulling it off. After the event I tried to meet new faces, so as not to get responses from those who know what I want to hear. I did not speak to one person who thought Galloway did well, and Sidhu seemed to confuse people. One woman told me that while she did not always agree with Nelson’s answers, he was the only candidate who understood the job, and the issues, and did not have to look something up before giving an answer, and for that reason she would support him. The overall sense I got was Nelson knew his stuff. That is not an answer I solicited, and for those who doubt, feel free to attend the next forum and conduct your own interviews.

Overall, Rose Espinoza confirmed what I had suspected during the NUFF Forum, she is a nice lady who needs to be involved in her neighborhood, she does a great job as a volunteer, but elected leadership is simply not her strong point. I wish her well on her non-profit endeavors, she truly cares about people, but this is not her venue.

I had not met Art Brown before, and was curious to hear from someone who touts his membership in the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas. He started strong, stating that you can take union money and still tell them no. The 5th term Mayor of Buena Park has a background in law enforcement, and is involved with the OCTA Board and various rail groups, as well as the I-5 Joint Powers Authority. Near and dear to my heart, he is also the longtime President of the Buena Park Historical Society. Yes, Buena Park has history. But he lost me quickly after that, waffling between common sense and government programs as the answer to all ills, with the nail in the coffin being his support for a high speed rail system that stands to decimate his own community. Besides, he is a Democrat, and Allan Bartlett won’t let me vote for them anymore.

Richard Faher continues to scare my socks off, with the creepy habit of referring to himself in the third person, as if reading a bio piece from his website rather than addressing the issues from a first person view. Faher shows up for these events with stacks of meaningless statistics, and last night’s theme revolved around a comparison of Orange County to the “successful government” of a county in Texas he believes does it right. Sadly that county name is lost in my video; it would have been interesting to do a true comparison.

My big interest (because this is a biased piece and anyone who tells you they are writing from a neutral position is lying to you) was the interplay between Shawn Nelson, Lorri Galloway, and Harry Sidhu. Only one of those candidates actually belongs in the District, but I digress. What I found most interesting was the willingness of both Sidhu and Galloway to admit to their short term residency in the District. I expected the standard line of “I have represented the people of the district for X years”, but they both surprised me by coming right out, with Galloway claiming residency in the District of 7 months. I guess she can count the time she lived in the office building; we will let her have that. Harry Sidhu admitted to living in the District for 2 ½ months! Let’s do the math, because Harry Sidhu signed a Voter Registration form on December 31, 2009, (attached below) under penalty of perjury, that he lived at the Calabria Apartments, which qualified him to run for office in the 4th District. Harry then admitted to a crowd of over 200 people that he has lived here far less than that time. Call me a stickler, but committing perjury to run for office at the very least should disqualify one to run for that office, ya think? Other than that side-trip from his carefully prepared public message, Harry toed the line, with the “jobs, jobs, jobs” message, and his new catch phrase “more makers and less takers”.

In contrast, Shawn Nelson has lived in the District since he was 4 years old, and as he pointed out in his closing remarks, “I did not move here because I thought it would be cool to run for office.”

Questions ran the gamut from the usual concerns regarding the economy, lack of park space in North County, bike trails, and my new obsession, transportation. Some were also concerned about the recent push to annex unincorporated islands into surrounding cities, to which all candidates responded that they would leave it to the County island residents to choose their own destinies, although Nelson did point out how inefficient it is to provide County services to those pockets, and perhaps we could contract services to nearby cities without forcing people into the requirements of those cities, which seems fair and equitable.

On the budget, Art Brown pointed out that the OCBC had done a study that was never acted on, and he would like to see that implemented. I have not seen the study, but now I am curious to get a copy, and find out what is in it and why it was not used.

Nelson recommends a department by department audit to find waste and duplication of effort, because “the County cannot be a jobs program.” Galloway gave a non-answer of 6,500 jobs being created by an airport expansion, but did not tell us what she had to do with that. This from someone who took credit for Anaheim improvements that were set in motion by Tom Daly prior to her election to office, but if she showed up for the ground breaking, I guess she gets to take a bow for making the lives of West Anaheim citizens better. Sadly, they have seen no further investment in infrastructure since those programs, and boy are they bitter. Harry Sidhu took a hit for that as well, folks in Anaheim are furious at seeing streets flooding when we continue to put a Rose Parade float into Pasadena every year. To Harry’s credit, he did have some ideas for “jobs, jobs, jobs,” mostly tied to putting people to work for the government, with installing solar panels at the airport and generating clean energy from our landfills. Great ideas, can we afford them? Just asking.

And of course my favorite topic, high speed rail. I know I am not the only attendee who put that one on a 3 x 5 card. This is something that not only hits close to home for the 4th district, as it runs through 3 of the District’s cities, but every Californian should be concerned with the most expensive transportation project in the history of California, and I believe the most expensive in the U.S. to date! And yet….

The Democrats toed the party line on HSR of “creating jobs” and “save the planet”. Art Brown supports the project despite the damage it is likely to cause his community, citing the recent agreement to look into shared track to alleviate the need for more space. News flash Art, the freight lines have the Federal voice on those lines, and they are not on board for this agreement yet, do not relax that pucker too soon. Galloway answered by saying that resurrecting a healthy economy is tied to HSR. May God help us if that is true.

Richard Faher gave one of his few lucid answers in pointing out that he used to commute from his home in Newport Beach to his office in Burlingame, in about an hour on Southwest airlines, and called HSR a “gigantic boondoggle.” Nelson has long been a vocal critic of the project, and had his opinion printed in the OC Register recently. http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/hsr-243226-anaheim-project.html

Shockingly, Harry Sidhu tap danced around the question, saying that as an engineer he had not yet taken a position to support or oppose, the study is not complete, and we have no idea how much it is going to cost. “I have not made a decision but I am prepared to look at the environmental studies.” Hmm….I wonder if he, as an engineer, understands that environmental studies do not explain how we are supposed to pay for this unfunded jobs program for the Chinese transportation industry? How can someone not have an opinion on the biggest transportation project in the history of the State? Environmental studies will not mitigate the concerns brought up by the LAO in their review of the CHSRA’s Business Plan, which is STILL not “investment grade”. How can this man call himself a fiscal conservative if he is willing to spend tens of billions of dollars in the event he likes what he sees in the environmental reports?

In conjunction with the HSR question, was the issue of several hundred million dollars of the County’s Measure M funds being stockpiled to build Anaheim’s ARTIC transportation center. Faher and Nelson opposed the idea, with Nelson pointing out that the money was supposed to benefit the entire County’s transportation systems, and that the top dollar real estate of the Platinum Triangle may not be the best place to find cheap land. Galloway thinks it will be the pride of the County, and Sidhu became very defensive, nearly hostile, insisting that this is not tax money but a public-private partnership! Um…I do not know where the “private” in that statement comes from, so far no private investors have stepped up to supplement the Measure M funds.

The question of the night may well have been a nuance missed by some. Of huge concern to Anaheim’s flatland residents is the concentration of affordable housing and its impacts on the existing neighborhoods that must somehow absorb the parking, lack of open space, and school crowding caused by the projects approved by the current Council. There is concern that Anaheim shoulders more than its fair share of the County’s affordable housing construction, while other communities in South County do little or nothing. Art Brown admitted that the area of Buena Park with the dense apartment projects has the highest crime calls. Rose Espinosa is warm and fuzzy for the Housing Commission. Harry Sidhu tried to back pedal on his support as a Councilmember for some of the highest density projects in the County, and Shawn Nelson let fly with the damning statement that not only had Sidhu and Galloway approved those projects in Anaheim, but they both approved a massive profit spike for a housing developer who crafted one of the worst of these projects, and there are even more in the pipeline! When Nelson specifically called out Sidhu’s involvement with the Elm Street Commons developer, Sidhu’s jaw dropped. Whoops, he knows about that? Yeah, he does, Harry. Blog post coming soon.

At that, Galloway dropped the cheerleader act, and went snarky on Nelson, saying, “There is a different kind of resident that lives here, and their needs must be met.” What makes the people of the 4th District angry is that those needs are being met to the detriment of the people who are already here, and had once enjoyed some level of quality of life prior to being squeezed by the underparked slums of the future that our current Council encourages. Comments after the meeting confirmed my suspicions; Galloway did not make friends with that self-righteous outburst.

Lack of park space was a concern, and several of the candidates pointed out the disparity of what is spent on south county parks, vs. North County. Nelson’s resolution for this, as well as his answer to a question regarding how to create jobs, was to stop using County parks money to pay the Sheriff’s office to not only patrol the harbors, but essentially act as the AAA of the yacht crowd. We currently pay the Sheriff to jump start or tow private vessels, when private vendors in the area are waved off those service calls by the Sheriff! We could save money and help save a few small boating service vendors by eliminating that service, as well as some other redundancies largely related to the Sheriff and parks overlay, that would free up money to build or improve more parks in our own area. Galloway’s response to the parks question was to insist that Anaheim elect someone who comes from our community, which I found ironic. Galloway presents herself as representing the people of Anaheim in the 4th District, when she has done such a miserable job of it as a Council member so far. But then I have never hidden my disdain for Galloway, why start now?

In the end, I saw what I expected to see, Faher is a nut job, Espinosa and Brown are genuinely nice people and I would love to have them over for BBQ and beer, but I do not see them leading us at the County level. Lorri Galloway is what she is, and I become increasingly disappointed in Harry Sidhu, a candidate I had backed repeatedly in the past, whose allegiance to developers and their campaign contributions is beginning to cloud his judgment. That’s what happens when you run for perpetual office, you end up selling yourself for the next campaign, until you forget who it is you were supposed to serve. Call me biased, many will, but Shawn Nelson took this one home on a platter. Nelson was the only candidate to know his own mind without notes, had the courage of his convictions to say what he thinks, and actually understood not only the issues presented, but how the County Supervisors can and cannot work to fit those issues. At times Nelson pointed out that the question did not fit the Supervisor’s authority, rather than give the pat answers voters are looking for. I walked into the forum in support of Nelson for 4th District Supe, the forum solidified my view, and I can tell you that many of the neighborhood leaders I spoke to last night have now jumped ship for Nelson. Look for Sidhu to take a pounding in Anaheim in the next poll. Harry failed to carry Anaheim against Mimi Walters, and he will fail to carry Anaheim in the 4th District. Sadly, that will pull votes away from the other Republican, which aids Galloway.

Also in attendance were:

Chasing Anaheim City Council seats: Kris Murray, Pete Bos, Brian Chuchua, John Leos, Hoagy Holguin. Jordan Brandman is running for re-election to Anaheim Union High School District, and Alex Coronado was there representing Orange County Department of Education. WAND’s own Esther Wallace is running for re-election to Magnolia School Board, Hugh Nguyen was there asking for the Clerk-Recorder’s seat, Anaheim’s Craig Hunter was attending and talking up the Sheriff’s race, (he reports outraising Bill Hunt this period) and Catherine Smith announced she is running for 47th Congressional District.

Another Candidate’s Forum for the 4th District will be held in Fullerton soon, and Nelson and Sidhu will debate at the OC GOP Central Committee meeting Monday night, which I would not miss for the world.

Please help save Anaheim neighborhoods and California's budget!

2010-04-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

I had posted a piece to Red County, once again poking at the high speed rail project that is scheduled to eat our neighborhoods, and our economic stability.
http://www.redcounty.com/fireworks-over-high-speed-rail-spin-machine-backfires-curt-pringle/38456?taxonomy=29

Diane Harkey has created AB2121, a bill that points out that the emperor is naked, and we are overpaying the tailor. AB2121 would kill further funding for this boondoggle. and I am begging you to help me support it please. It only takes a moment to contact the members of the Assembly Transportation Committee, who will hear the bill on April 19th. Their contact info is below. Also, if you would please pass the info along to those of like mind, I would love to bombard the Assembly with messages that we have had enough of the State spending our money on broken promises. Thanks for the help!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Committee Members

Committee Members District Phone E-mail

Bonnie Lowenthal - Chair Dem-54 (916) 319-2054 Assemblymember.Lowenthal@assembly.ca.gov

Kevin Jeffries - Vice Chair Rep-66 (916) 319-2066 Assemblymember.Jeffries@assembly.ca.gov

Bill Berryhill Rep-26 (916) 319-2026 Assemblymember.Bill.Berryhill@assembly.ca.gov

Bob Blumenfield Dem-40 (916) 319-2040 Assemblymember.Blumenfield@assembly.ca.gov

Joan Buchanan Dem-15 (916) 319-2015 Assemblymember.Buchanan@assembly.ca.gov

Mike Eng Dem-49 (916) 319-2049 Assemblymember.Eng@assembly.ca.gov

Warren T. Furutani Dem-55 (916) 319-2055 Assemblymember.Furutani@assembly.ca.gov

Cathleen Galgiani Dem-17 (916) 319-2017 Assemblymember.Galgiani@assembly.ca.gov

Mary Hayashi Dem-18 (916) 319-2018 Assemblymember.Hayashi@assembly.ca.gov

Jeff Miller Rep-71 (916) 319-2071 Assemblymember.Miller@assembly.ca.gov

Roger Niello Rep-5 (916) 319-2005 Assemblymember.niello@assembly.ca.gov

Chris Norby Rep-72 (916) 319-2072 Assemblymember.Norby@assembly.ca.gov

Anthony J. Portantino Dem-44 (916) 319-2044 Assemblymember.Portantino@assembly.ca.gov

Jose Solorio Dem-69 (916) 319-2069 Assemblymember.Solorio@assembly.ca.gov

5 Points Ruby's and Jordan Brandman Re-Election Kick-Off

2010-03-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

Anaheim residents no longer have to leave the city in order to shooby dooby down to Ruby's! Our own 5 Points Ruby's is now open. Yes, I know, it seemed like a fairy tale at times, as the poor old flatiron building sat on blocks for years, trapped in a sea of red tape. But Bill Taormina managed to push his way through the obstacles (including piles of money to be spent) and got 'er done! The building, originally constructed in the 1920s in a flatiron style, was crafted to accomodate the pie wedge lot left by the 5 sided intersection of Lincoln (Old County Road at the time) Center, and West Streets. Over time the building, and its surrounding area, faced challenges, as the upper floor units became flophouse style apartments, with all the joys of humanity that come with that environment. The City of Anaheim bought the building, along with the Lund Paints building next door (reused as a restaurant supply warehouse) and the surrounding homes facing south into Center Street, during a road widening project on Lincoln. All were meant for demolition, until local preservationists stepped in. The Lund Paint building was lost, but the residences were moved to other lots on the street, and joined by infill new construction, in styles that reflect the neighborhood. The Flatiron would have been a total loss if not for developer Bill Taormina, who stepped in knowing the the investmen was unlikely to pencil out. Bill rehabbed the building, and in a departure from the usual red and white 50s style Ruby's theme, the 5 Points Ruby's sports a brown and tan theme that reflects eras from the 20 to the 40s, more in keeping with the structure's period of significance. Photos from the Anaheim History Room's Digital Collection grace the walls, reflecting Anaheim's past. Carhops on skates serve drivers beneath a massive pergola, and the outdoor patio area looks like the perfect spot for Saturday breakfast! A public park is planned for the remaining corner lot.

The restaurant has been serving invited guests during a "soft opening" combining fund raising for local charities with training new hires to serve the public. I attended one of the fundraisers Friday night with Council candidate Kris Murray, Disney's Carrie Nocella, School Board Trustee Jordan Brandman, and our families, in a completely packed house! The Morris family directly across the street were in attendance Friday night, clearly excited to see this finally come to fruition, after years of living in a construction zone! Also residing across the street is larry Black, who has been to Ruby's repeatedly, not only for the excitement, but likely to keep his kitchen clean so he can sell the airplane bungalow his family has on the market.www.CalBungalow. com.

Come on out to see the latest Ruby's, at Lincoln and the 5 freeway (across from Paul Kott's office) and if you run into Bill Taormina, say thanks!

Speaking of Jordan Brandman, his re-election Kick-Off party is tonight at Mama Cozza's restaurant, Ball and Brookhurst. I undertand there are about 100 guests planning to attend, but there is always room for more. You can pay at the door if you can make it last minute!

Carol Latham on Art in Public Places: Anaheim Beautiful

2010-03-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

The next meeting of Anaheim Beautiful is on April 7th, 2010 at 12:00 Noon.

Please save the date! This will be a great informative meeting!
Location:
Red Lion Hotel
1850 S. Harbor Blvd.

Cost: $25 per person / $30 at the door.

Reservations Please! - RSVP by April 1st.
Call: 714-765-6079
Guest Speaker: Carol Latham / Anaheim Arts Council
Subject: "Art in Public Places"

Harry Sidhu: Carpetbagger

2010-03-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu has moved recently (twice) in an effort to represent the 4th District on the County Board of Supervisors, after Chris Norby vacated the seat in a special election.
How much do we trust Harry Sidhu to be a member of the 4th District community he claims he wants to represent? Recently Harry went to great lengths to tell others that he and his wife had purchased a home in the 4th District, in order to put down roots in the community. As a multi-millionaire, he is certainly in a position to own more than one home, so that is doable. I had been watching the Clerk-Recorder’s public records system, waiting for a transaction to record, showing his purchase of another home, to no avail. The boys from Fullerton accurately picked up Harry’s visit to the Registrar of Voters, claiming he had moved from the Calabria apartments, to a new home at 2215 E. Lucky Way in Anaheim’s 92802, which is well within the 4th District. Over breakfast at Mimi’s recently, Harry verified to me that he and his wife had purchased the home, and that he planned to remain in the house even if he lost the primary in June. When I asked him to put that in writing, along with a pledge not to use the Supe seat as a springboard for yet another office, he offered to send an email to that effect. I have yet to get that, but I digress.

Here’s my problem. A) There is no such address as 2215 E. Lucky Way. At least not in the City of Anaheim. In fact, the location of Harry’s newest abode (and site of dispute with the Bushala team) is in fact 2215 South Lucky Way. Bushala told me yesterday that he went to that location to confirm Sidhu’s residence there, to clear up the confusion over the address.

B) Harry Sidhu does not appear to own the house at that address. Public records show the owner of 2215 S. Lucky Way to be Phuc and Bian Huynh, who live nearby on East Simmons Avenue. The Sidhus are renting.

Which leaves us with several very big questions:

A) Is Harry Sidhu legally registered to vote if he gave a home address that does not exist? If not, is his candidacy for the 4th District even valid? I understand there are others asking that same question, with lawyers.

B) Why did Harry lie to the residents of the 4th District by claiming he had bought his home in the District? Did he really think we were too stupid to check on that? Harry Sidhu can certainly afford to purchase a second house, which he would have done if putting down the deep roots he claims he wants in the area. There is nothing wrong with renting, unless you told others you had purchased.

C) Harry has lived in his 3rd District home, the “elegant Yorba estate” for many years. Why is he so unpopular with his own long term neighbors that he sees himself as unelectable in his own back yard, when the 3rd District seat opens up? Is he so despised on his own home turf that he would rather overcome charges of “carpetbagging” than run in his own neck of the woods? What do Harry’s neighbors know that the 4th District doesn’t?

I do not have answers for those questions, and I frankly will not hold my breath waiting for Harry to answer them, just as he has not sent the email confirming his verbal commitments to me. But I trust the people of the 4th District will ask themselves these questions before voting for our next Supervisor.

Congratulations to Janet Lee and the Shops at Anaheim Gardenwalk for the Maxi Award!

2010-03-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

Over last spring and summer, volunteer artist and Anaheim resident Janet Lee worked with the Shops at Anaheim Gardenwalk to create an innovative new program, featuring art in public places-in a shopping center! Janet worked tirelessly with volunteers from many organizations, including Assistance League, Anaheim Historical Society, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, and others. Together they teamed up with school children in the summer camp programs, and local artists volunteering their time. Using donated materials, the artists created enormous murals, painted by the school kids, to be hung in the public spaces of the Anaheim GardenWalk. The murals depict Anaheim culture and history, based largely on Gail Eastman's children's book, Ana's Home by the River.

That project has now won a Gold Award in the ICSC Maxi Awards, recognizing innovative ideas in shopping center development. This is the only project of its kind in the world, but I suspect the idea will be picked up and taken elsewhere soon! They would do well to hire ball-of-energy Janet Lee to run future programs!
http://www.icsc.org/usmaxiawards/2010_USMaxiWinners.pdf

Good work and congratulations to Janet, the GardenWalk, and thanks to all of the artists, school kids, and organizations that gave time, energy, and resources to this project. The murals can be seen in the upper areas of the GardenWalk center, and are open to the public at no charge.

Children's Book Signing to Benefit Anaheim Family Justice Center

2010-03-03T09:16:00.003-08:00

CHILDREN’S BOOK READING AND SIGNING EVENT TO BENEFIT THE ANAHEIM FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER

Dino Mannersauthor Susan Finch and illustrator Allison Seda joined by Anaheim Police Chief, Anaheim City Attorney, and Officer Byrd to teach children important life lessons

ANAHEIM, Calif. (March 2, 2010) – Susan Finch, the author of Dino Manners, a popular children’s book which teaches children to treat their friends with respect, will be joined by Anaheim Police Chief John Welter and Anaheim City Attorney Cristina Talley at the Anaheim Family Justice Center on Friday, March 5, from 4:00 – 7:30 p.m. The trio will share in the reading of the book, and offer words of advice and encouragement to all. The event is free to the public, with proceeds from the book sales benefitting the Anaheim Family Justice Center.

Dino Mannersfeatures colorful and humorous illustrations of a group of dinosaurs learning about friendship, resolving conflict, sharing, how to stay safe, and much more.

Also joining the dinosaur-talk at the event will be Officer Byrd and his friend and author, retired Los Angeles Police Department officer Michael Simonsen. Officer Byrd, a South American Macaw, is no stranger to police work himself. The two officers visit schools to teach children and adults about safety. Officer Byrd likes to entertain his audience with his bike riding, skateboarding, roller-skating, and even driving his own police car.

Established in October 2006, the Anaheim Family Justice Center offers many resources to effectively and efficiently address domestic violence, child abuse, elder/dependent abuse and sexual assaults. By utilizing a multi-disciplinary team approach to intervene, new and innovative ways to support and enhance provisions of crime victim services are proposed.

The Anaheim Family Justice Center is located at 150 W. Vermont Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92805.

For more information please contact the Anaheim Family Justice Center, at (714) 765-1618 (714) 765-1618

A New Music Hall for Anaheim

2010-03-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

The Orange County Register reports on a new music hall opening in Anaheim, with some reservations from the neighbors. http://www.ocregister.com/news/neighborhood-236971-music-hall.html

Apparently the owner of the EXTRON site at Ball and East Streets is creating a steak house restaurant, and is also adding a concert hall, with a focus on country music. The site sits on an arterial corner, but is surrounded by residential properties nearby, and the neighbors are understandably concerned. Sadly if you read the comments section below the Register article, the critiques of the project quickly tailspin into name calling and insults, alluding to the stereotype of country music fans being in-bred hillbillies. But just a quick Google search of demographics http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=514540

shows that Country Music listeners tend to be in the 25-54 year old age range (the folks most likely to spend money), they are Caucasian, female, married, homeowners, with kids, and at least some college education. Not exactly the image of "Bubba passed out on your lawn after a night of downing longneck beers" that the neighbors might fear. The parking lot of this concert hall is far more likely to be filled with Beemers than pickup trucks, and the greatest crime spree may well turn out to be GPS units swiped from those convertibles during the concert, not the shotgun target practice some have posted on the Register site.

In addition, the concert hall appears to have made an agreement with the Planning Commission to utilize the same neighborhood protections agreed to by the owners of the Ember nightclub in the Anaheim Colony Historic District. Like the EXTRON site, the Ember property fronts onto a busy arterial street, but backs onto and is surrounded by residences, and those neighbors were greatly concerned for quality of life issues, for the same reasons as the EXTRON neighbors likely are. The owners of Ember agreed to Conditional Use that specified on-site security to keep the party from spilling onto neighboring streets, as well as valet parking, and a strictly enforced dress code. The Ember nightclub has become an assett to the community, and using those same restrictions for the EXTRON site is likely to produce an equally beneficial project. The Conditional Use Permit also gives the neighbors the reassurance that if the owner fails to abide by the rules, the Permit can be pulled. That is a lot more comfort and local control than we get when a "party house" picks up down the street, and we cannot get the cooperation of the absentee landlord to quell the keggers.

A concert hall at Ball and East Street would also create yet another entertainment venue for Resort visitors, who often complain of a lack of nightlife or free-time options after a convention, outside of Disney. Conventioners visiting for a business trip want an adult oriented venue to relax after a busy day of walking through medical device booths at the Convention Center, and they have money to spend, money that goes back into the coffers of Anaheim's General Fund.

I have not spoken to the neighbors, but it appears the project could be a win-win, as long as the neighbors have their concrerns addressed in the CUP, and the owner acts in good faith to abide by those concerns. This could be a great step in closing the gap of the cultural vaccuum of Anaheim. Bring on the music!

More HSR rant

2010-02-28T11:14:00.001-08:00

Transportation projects are essential to the economic viability of California. We cannot sell or distribute the goods or services that are the backbone of our business community without transportation infrastructure, and transportation is one of the few tax expenditures worthy of our support-when it is done right. Sadly, California’s High Speed Rail development has become the third cousin of a good transportation project, and as currently designed is a monster boondoggle, inefficiently planned, using money that has yet to be produced by future generations. With the State possibly unable to sell the bonds approved by voters in 2008, and private investment running in the other direction, the CHSRA is now counting on Federal Stimulus funding to get this thing going- Stimulus funding that We The People have no oversight in spending!

Looking at the Business Plan and route alternatives produced thus far, it appears the High Speed Rail project has been created by politicians rather than rail experts, as a giant make-work project. While an efficient system should have been based on ridership demand, we now know those ridership numbers to be inaccurate. http://www.redcounty.com/hsr-contractors-have-some-splainin-do/36578. This is especially alarming to us in Orange County, as the Anaheim to Los Angeles segment is the first scheduled to break ground, and we have yet to see real numbers that justify that impending construction! Even CHSRA’s own people are beginning to question the viability of this, as the LA Times reports “Katz, who also serves as a Los Angeles County transit official, wants a review to ensure that the L.A.-to-Anaheim leg, which has nearly doubled in cost, is based on actual demand and is efficiently designed to avoid duplication with existing rail services. "I think there are a number of legitimate questions that need to be raised," he said.”

Instead of the straight path that bullet trains follow in Europe and Japan, the California route winds like a snake through the Districts and cities of those politicians directly connected to the project, with the most to gain. The inefficient route placement will result in lost time in transit, as we sacrifice the direct path of speed for the gerrymandered path of political expedience. http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/map.htm

In addition, while some areas such as the Central Valley are begging for this project, hoping the jobs will rescue their skyrocketing unemployment numbers; other communities are questioning the wisdom of the route placement, and its impact on their own quality of life. Communities on the peninsula who caught wind of the routes years ago are already well into the lawsuit stage. http://www.calhsr.com/

Here in Orange County the project has been a deeply held mystery, and public outreach is only now beginning, with the first public disclosure of the Alternatives Analysis presented January 20 of this year, using Right of Way width still not determined! As Orange County awakens to the reality of this project, and its imminent time tables, activists are raising the alarm (and money) in anticipation of reviewing, and likely opposing, the upcoming Draft EIR, soon to be released. For those familiar with CEQA, it is distressing to realize we have managed to get as far as Draft EIR with this just now hitting the editorial pages, but both the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register have now opposed this project in recent months. It is about time.

High Speed Rail needs to be sent back to the drawing board, and created with a transparent and community-driven planning team, to be an efficient use of our tax dollars, and a benefit to each of the communities it touches. Then and only then should California support the project with the funding it requires and deserves. Until that time, we need to put the brakes on, possibly by removing the project from those currently running it, and turning it over to those without political agendas.

Game over, we need to hit the reset button. Apparently the Los Angeles Times would agree.

latimes.com/news/local/la-me-high-speed28-2010feb28,0,5686672.story

latimes.com

Some fear California's high-speed rail won't deliver on early promises

There's concern that local, state or federal subsidies would be needed as projected ticket prices between L.A. and San Francisco have almost doubled. And building costs for the first phase have grown

By Rich Connell and Dan Weikel

February 28, 2010

Despite a new $2.25-billion infusion of federal economic stimulus funding, there are intensifying concerns -- even among some high-speed rail supporters -- that California's proposed bullet train may not deliver on the financial and ridership promises made to win voter backing in 2008.

Estimates of ticket prices between Los Angeles and San Francisco have nearly doubled in the project's latest business plan, pushing ridership projections down sharply and prompting new skepticism about data underpinning the entire project.

"This just smells funny," said state Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), a supporter of high-speed rail and chairman of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.

New inflation-adjusted construction figures show that outlays needed to build the first 520-mile phase of the system have climbed more than 25%, from $33.6 billion to $42.6 billion.

And some government watchdogs are concerned that a linchpin commitment to taxpayers in the bullet train's financing measure -- that no local, state or federal subsidies would be required to keep the trains operating -- may be giving way.

High-speed rail planners recently advised state lawmakers that attracting billions in crucial private financing will probably require government backing of future cash flow. "Without some form of revenue guarantee from the public sector, it is unlikely that private investment will occur at [the planned] level until demand for California high-speed rail is proven," project planners wrote in December.

That is feeding fears that a larger state commitment, beyond the $9 billion in construction bonds approved by voters, could be sought to complete the 800-mile project. "To now put in that we have to [give] some kind of revenue guarantee . . . is totally unacceptable," Lowenthal said. "That's not what we agreed to."

Financial risks and planning adjustments are inevitable in such a massive project, say officials with the California High-Speed Rail Authority. They insist that significant progress is being made, that there is cause for optimism and that they are keeping their commitments to voters. Opportunities for capturing more federal dollars are greater than ever, they say, because President Obama supports high-speed rail.

"The project is moving forward, very much," said Mehdi Morshed, the agency's executive director.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a coalition of business, labor and political leaders argue that the project is ahead of others in the United States and will provide enormous benefits in job creation, congestion relief and environmental improvements.

Tying San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco together with European-style 200-mph trains has been a long-stalled dream for many. The prospect that construction could actually begin has intensified scrutiny of financial, ridership and route issues.

"I think the numbers should be scrubbed," said authority board member Richard Katz, adding that doing so could help the project.

Jeff Barker, the agency's deputy director, said the latest business plan fueled confusion about a revenue guarantee.

"We didn't do a good job of explaining that," he said. The system is being designed to operate without a taxpayer subsidy, and that will be clarified in a new, as-yet unavailable report, he said.

But Morshed, who is stepping down next month, reiterated that some guarantee, probably from the federal government, may be needed to ensure that cash flow can repay front-end construction investments by private parties. That is not uncommon in federally backed projects, he said, and would not violate the state's ban on taxpayer operating subsidies.

Current plans call for up to $12 billion from private-sector investors, about $18 billion from the federal government and up to $5 billion from local agencies. New forecasts show an operating surplus topping $1 billion a few years after service begins.

But some analysts point out that almost all U.S. rail systems -- and a number of foreign operations -- have required large government loans or cash infusions to keep running.

Under the new scenario, one-way fares between L.A. and San Francisco rise from $55 to $105, closer to the cost of an airline ticket. The change shows healthier surplus revenue, which may appeal to private investors. But estimated ridership falls by about one-third, to about 40 million annual boarders in 2030.

Some transit advocates say predictions of private participation aren't realistic. "A lot of it's still magical thinking," said Bart Reed, executive director of the Transit Coalition.

Fare, ridership and financing projections should be viewed as fluid and subject to revision based on changing conditions and assumptions, high-speed rail officials say. But revised ridership estimates have heightened suspicions about the projections' reliability. Some smaller cities, like Gilroy, Merced and Bakersfield, show numbers of nonlocal trips equal to or greater than Los Angeles. "We've never understood their models," said Lowenthal, whose panel is delving deeper into the projections.

A recent federal Government Accountability Office study found that rail cost and patronage projections around the world, including on some high-speed lines, tended to be overly optimistic, making it difficult to gauge the financial viability of projects. Limited federal money may be available for several competing projects, the report adds.

Such warnings underscore what some see as the mixed blessing of the recent windfall of federal dollars. To help create jobs, California is supposed to break ground in two years.

The goal is to start Los Angeles, Bay Area and Central Valley segments about the same time. But the backhoes would be digging before officials know how much future federal and private funding will be available to connect the system, officials say.

Conflicts are brewing in Southern California as planners step up efforts to squeeze trenches, viaducts and extra tracks into a crowded rail corridor cutting across the region. Problems remain over how the bullet train will pass through Los Angeles' Union Station transportation complex. Existing buildings, freeways, rail lines and overpasses around the station make it an extremely tight fit.

In Buena Park, city officials recently learned that part of a new award-winning transit-oriented residential project tied into the city's 3-year-old Metrolink station may have to be ripped out.

A high-speed rail representative told local officials, "We either take the condominiums or we take your station," recalled Councilman Art Brown, who has generally supported the bullet train. Planners are reexamining the issue, but it remains unresolved.

Katz, who also serves as a Los Angeles County transit official, wants a review to ensure that the L.A.-to-Anaheim leg, which has nearly doubled in cost, is based on actual demand and is efficiently designed to avoid duplication with existing rail services. "I think there are a number of legitimate questions that need to be raised," he said.

Communication with cities is being improved, said Barker, the rail agency's deputy director. "We're playing catch-up," he said. Overall, his quasi-independent agency, with a small staff and mostly contract planners, has produced results, he said.

But lawmakers are likely to overhaul the high-speed rail agency and move it more directly into state government, Lowenthal said. "It's not going to be out there on its own," he said.

rich.connell@latimes.com

dan.weikel@latimes.com

Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

A Happy Ending to a Grafitti Story

2010-02-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

The newspapers have been covering a story about Anaheim shop owner Rosa Bobbio, and her battle with the City of Anaheim, and the dirtbags-excuse me, misguided youth, who have tagged her building for years. http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-235823-graffiti-bobbio.html

Sadly, they are not sharing all of the story.

Back in fall of 2009, upholstery shop owner Rosa Bobbio reported to the Anaheim Police Department that her building had been tagged, once again. This time they hit the glass shop windows out front that display her work to passersby, etching the glass with their tagging. Rosa contacted the City to find out what she could do to stop the insanity. She had already installed bars on the windows and doors out back, after several burglaries, but she refused to put bars across the front. As she told me during a visit to her shop, she did not want the criminals to make her feel like she was in jail in her own shop, hiding behind bars. She also did not want the neighborhood to look “trashy” with bars on shop fronts. While the Police were unable to give her much advice on how to stop the tagging, the contact apparently triggered something in the system, alerting the City’s Code Enforcement department to the fact that Rosa had not eradicated the graffiti herself.

Rosa received a letter from Code Enforcement, demanding she replace the glass in her store front. After calling glass companies, she realized it would cost over $1500.00 to replace the large expanse of glass, and she had no assurance that the taggers would not come back and deface the new glass. Rosa felt she was trapped in a cycle of victimization she could not escape. Nobody wants to live that way.

Feeling defeated, Rosa left the graffiti. Clearly, this was not the answer, as Anaheim is committed to removing graffiti as quickly as possible, as that is the only known deterrent to the crime. These “artists” need their work to remain in place, for bragging rights. Get it removed before anyone else sees it, we remove the incentive for the taggers, and they will go elsewhere, to an area where it stays up long enough to be seen, and presumably admired by those with no respect for private property. Based on this stand against the crime, the City of Anaheim issues fines to property owners who fail to clean up their property, and that includes having been victimized by taggers. It is not fair, but life is rarely fair. How many of us clear the trash from our flower beds that was dropped by others? Same concept, but frustratingly for Rosa the price tag was much higher. Feeling victimized twice, first by the taggers, and then by her own City, Rosa dug in her heels. The press covered it, and the City of Anaheim became the big, bad meany.

The sad thing is that all of this was based on pure miscommunication. Rosa Bobbio was convinced that her ONLY option was an expensive glass replacement, with more to come as the taggers repeated their behavior. Once Sandra Seaton, the head of Anaheim’s Code Enforcement division caught wind of the problem, she plugged Rosa in with a company that polishes glass, ridding the window of the graffiti for a much lower price tag. A huge thank you to WKRP Inc. for coming out and tackling Rosa’s windows for free. They do all kinds of graffiti removal services, and the gentleman I met while I was out there talking to Rosa was very nice.

WKRP Services, Inc.

www.wkrpservices. com

Mike Speakman

714-832-2146 Ext 103

949-289-1457 cell

So in the end, Rosa’s windows are graffiti free, (for now) and she now has the name of a lower cost solution should the taggers return. Code Enforcement has waived the fines, as they were only seeking compliance, not punitive action. The only really happy ending to this story would be the tagger in the back seat of a Police car, but we will take our victories where we find them.

Scoping Meeting for new ARTIC train station

2010-02-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

On February 24, 2010, the public is invited to a Scoping Meeting to review the plans for the ARTIC train station. ARTIC is the new facility that will serve High Speed Rail (if it gets built) as well as Metrolink, and eventually the ARC monorail through the Resort, and perhaps someday the MagLev to Las Vegas. When initially proposed, ARTIC was supposed to be a public-private partnership. However, the private sector has declined Curt Pringle's generous offer to invest in the station, so it is now a fully public investment, see the chart below to see how our money is being spent.
ARTIC Funding Sources

Funding Sources

Renewed Measure M--Project T Bond Proceeds $99.2 million

Measure M Transit Revenue $44.6 million

2008 State Transportation Improvement Program $29.2 million

Federal Earmark $3.2 million

Federal Transit Administration $2.6 million

*Total $178.8 million

*Information current as of 10/26/09

The Scoping process is a step in CEQA, during which the public agency reveals the plans to the public, and gathers input from the public. This is a very important step, as a comment at this time essentially acts as a "place holder" to allow for dispute later in the event that the project does not meet the desires of the community. Forfeit your right to comment now, and it becomes harder to object later. During the Scoping Meetings for High Speed Rail, only 2 meetings were held in Anaheim, both on the same day, and the only notification listed on the CHSRA's mailing list for those meetings was the City of Anaheim Planning Department. Few showed up, because few knew, and HSR supporters interpret that lack of attendance as lack of interest. So it is important to attend this meeting and send a strong message that yes we ARE interested in transporation issues in our community, when we know about them!

Where:

Anaheim West Tower Gordon Hoyt Conf. Ctr., 2nd Fl.
201 South Anaheim Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92805

When:
February 24, 2010 at 4:30 p.m.
Visit anytime between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Parking:
Parking for the meeting will be at:
City of Anaheim Parking Structure
200 South Anaheim Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92805

Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

For the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) Draft Environmental Impact Report
The City of Anaheim is responsible for preparing the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for construction/ operation of the proposed ARTIC Project. ARTIC will be an intermodal transportation facility that will replace the existing Metrolink/Amtrak station currently located south of Katella Avenue and west of the Orange Freeway (SR-57). The proposed ARTIC site is located on a 16-acre site south of Katella Avenue, east of SR-57 and Douglass Road, and west of the Santa Ana River.
ARTIC will be an iconic transportationfacility where people will seamlessly move between transit services to reach Southern California activity centers and business districts. The station will accommodate passenger arrivals, departures and transfers with supporting retail, restaurants and passenger services within the building.
Your Input Counts

Interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to participate to learn more about the project and provide comments on what issues you would like to see addressed in the environmental document.

Can't Attend?

Comments may be submitted by March 8, 2010

Contact: Ruth Ruiz, Public Information Specialist,

City of Anaheim

Office: (714) 765-5060 Email: rruiz@anaheim.net

200 South Anaheim Boulevard, Anaheim, CA 92805

Register Now!

Mob Rules

2010-02-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

Disney hotel workers represented by Unite Here 11 are staging a hunger strike to bring attention to their cause, in the fight against the evil empire of Disney. let's look at both sides of the issue.

A Facebook page for "Disney is Unfaithful" has posted the following statement.

"Approximately 2,100 employees of the Disneyland Hotels, including bellmen, dishwashers, room attendants, and cooks, have been working without a contract since February 2008. Disney is unfaithful to the community and the workers because they do not uphold their espoused family values. Many hotel workers who have given years to the company will be faced with increased difficulty in obtaining healthcare for their families due to the proposals of Disney. The company is proposing to increase both cost and eligibility requirements to these low wage workers for benefits like health-care, vacation and seniority. This will cause suffering to many workers and their children."

What Unite Here is not telling you is that in 2008, Disney offered to extend the current contract to cover cast members during negotiations, and Unite Here refused the offer. Those cast members are working without a contract because their own leadership dismissed the offer. Working without a contract and working without benefits is NOT the same thing! While the Union refuses to negotiate with Disney, Disney has continued to deposit over $14 million dollars into the Union Trust to cover employee health care benefits. Disney is still acting in good faith.

Health care costs are rising, but Unite Here refuses to pass any of those increases on to their members, like the rest of us have to pay. Instead, they are demanding that Disney increase their payments by over 30% to cover the increased cost! My own family pays more every year for our employer sponsored benefits, and we have been notified that next year the plan we have been in will be eliminated entirely. This is life, and no single segment of the population should carry increased burden, nor should they be exempt from the burdens that others shoulder.

With costs skyrocketing, and Disney trying to avoid layoffs, it is no longer viable for Disney to pay into the Union plan. Because Disney is such a big company, they are able to "buy in bulk" and get great coverage for their cast members, at a better cost than the Union deal. 30 other Unions working for Disney have enrolled in the benefits plan, and none of the others are protesting. Unite Here is the ONLY Union of 31 in total that has refused to see reason and accept the changing times we all live with. For those Union members who are enrolled in the Disney plan, Disney pays 75% of their plan! That is an incedibly generous benefit, but Unite Here insists that Disney cover 100% of their benefits! I am sorry, but where else on the planet does this happen?

The Disney plan actually offers better variety in choice of doctors and access to services, as well as sick pay, which is unavailable through the Union plan. The Union has also hiked co-pays with little or no warning, and took away cast members' sick pay with no warning! Disney's plan is stable.

The Union has tried to scare their members into believing it would cost $500 a month to enroll in the Disney plan, and I can understand the panic of hearing that number when making minimum wage. I did not have that kind of money as a resort drone, waiting tables, and IF THE NUMBERS WERE REAL, it would be a problem! According to Disney, "For a single Cast Member in 2010, the seven health plans in Disney Signature Benefits begin at $6.50 per week, with five health plans that are less than $20 per week. For a family of four, we offer four health plans at $68 or less per week, with the lowest starting at $29/week."

In addition to comprehensive health care coverage, the Mouse offered annual wage increases of 2.7% to 3.9% per year for five years for non-tipped Cast Members, the continuation of current eligibility requirements for all current Cast Members (ie, Cast Members can work as little as 70 hours per month and still be entitled to full health care benefits) and seven paid sick days per year -- a benefit the Union recently suspended. In an age when people are losing their jobs, this is jawdropping generous in my book!

In the 2 years the Union and Disney have been battling, Disney has asked for a Federal mediator to help them resolve the issue on at least FOUR occasions! In every case, Unite Here has refused. On January 29, Disney asked again for mediation, to try and get their cast members covered, and the Union responded, not by agreeing to mediation, but with a hunger strike! The Union tells the news media that they will agree to mediation, and they did send Disney a formal letter agreeing to mediation, but as of this date (February 16, 2010) when I checked with Disney, they do not have a response from the Union agreeing to details. If the Union is so concerned, why are they not at the negotiation tables?

Talking to Disney does not seem difficult, in the 2 years the Unite Here people have spent getting dressed up like characters for the benefit of being arrested in front of the media, SEVEN other Union contracts representing 7,100 cast members were renegotiated, with none of the other Unions protesting in the street!

In the place of Disney, I honestly do not know that I would have been as gracious. When Unite Here went on a hunger strike in the rain, Disney offered them the use of a ballroom to keep them out of the weather. Frankly, I would have told them to find better benefits with their next employer. So when i see reports of Disney being depicted as the evil empire, I have to respond. Every city is a company town to some extent, and while I do not always agree with Disney, I am proud of the way the biggest employer in the region conducts themselves, even in the face of angry and unreasonable mobs.

A quick note to Unite Here: I know a lot of college students in my neighborhood who would LOVE to have your jobs, with or without benefits.

2010-02-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

"I feel that the dormant goodwill in people needs to be stirred. People need to hear that it makes sense to behave decently, or to help others, to place common interests above their own, to respect the elementary rules of human existence. They want to be told about this publicly. They want to know that those 'at the top' are on their side. They feel strengthened, confirmed, hopeful. Goodwill longs to be strengthened and cultivated. For it to develop and have an impact it must hear that the world does not ridicule it...I try never to give people practical advice to deal with the evil around them, nor could I even if I wanted to -- and yet people want to hear that decency and courage make sense, that something must be risked in the struggle against dirty tricks. They want to know that they are not alone, forgotten, written off..."

Vaclev Havel
Chip Hanlon posted a serious kick in the pants regarding the Paycheck Protection Initiative over at Red County http://www.redcounty.com/paycheck-protection-simply-cannot-fall-short/36622#comment-42214

I am throwing out this challenge to all Anaheim residents; Get off your duff and make a difference in this state! We have the chance to take our Government back from those who would take from us for their own special interests, by helping the grassroots efforts of the Citizen Power Campaign.

To all Anaheim candidates I ask: What are YOU doing to support this important work? If you oppose this Initiative, tell me why, so we can share that information with Anaheim's voters. Make it good.

This Initiative is essential to restoring the balance of access when Union leaders use Union members' money (often against their will) for issues the individual members oppose. This does not prevent Union members from speaking out on those issues they feel passionately about. It simply keeps the Unions from taking money without permission, and using it in ways outside the will of those members from which the money was taken.

The Paycheck Protection Initiative is the ultimate statement of American ideals, in that nobody, not the government, not the unions, nobody, should be able to take money from an American paycheck and use it to buy access to politicians for causes the "donors" do not agree to!

If you have ever complained about special interests having access to politicians, but you thought one person could not make a difference, here is your chance to do something!

If you want to be elected in the City of Anaheim, and there are many of you, share what YOU are doing to protect the voices of your Union constituents who have had their voices ussurped by those who are supposed to represent them.

You will find more information, and a chance to sign the petition, and make a donation to help pay for professional signature gatherers, at the website here http://www.unplugthepoliticalmachine.org/

You can also join Scott Baugh for a rally at the Slide Bar in Fullerton on Saturday, February 13th at 10 am. If you want to attend from Anaheim, contact me at Cynthia_Ward@sbcglobal.net and I will pack my greenhouse killer SUV with passengers.

I can tell you from my own interviews with local grassroots leaders: Anaheim is in a funny mood, a mood that matches much of the rest of the nation. Anaheim is tired of the same old political elite telling the citizenry what they have chosen to do to and with the everyday people of our hometown. There is an anger simmering beneath the surface, and we can either tap into it and make it work for us...or we can ignore it and maintain the status quo. The status quo will not longer be tolerated in Anaheim, that is a message I hear from leaders in the neighborhoods, that is a message I will make very clear as the election moves forward. To every candidate in Anaheim, I ask; Will you be part of the solution? Tell me about it.

To every reader that this might reach: Get off your butt and work toward a solution, download a petition, sign it, get members of your household to sign it. Take it to your bridge game, your neighborhood potluck, your workplace (if your employer allows). We keep screaming for cleaner politics, let's make it happen!

Government Spending

2010-02-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

BOONDOGGLE/ˈbuːndɒɡ(ə)l/

An unnecessary or wasteful project.

This typically North American term is often applied in two specific ways, either to describe work of little or no value done merely to appear busy, or in reference to a government-funded project with no purpose other than political patronage. It can also be used for an unnecessary journey by a government official at public expense.

Part of its oddity lies in its sudden emergence into public view in an article in the New York Times on 4 April 1935. This had the headline “$3,187,000 Relief is Spent to Teach Jobless to Play ... Boon Doggles Made”. The “boon doggles” of the headline turn out to be small items of leather, rope and canvas, which were being crafted by the jobless during the Great Depression as a form of make-work. The article quoted a person who taught the unemployed to create them that the word was “simply a term applied back in the pioneer days to what we call gadgets today”. He suggested that boondoggles had been small items of leatherwork which were made by cowboys on idle days as decorations for their saddles.

The word instantly became famous. It seems that Americans had been feeling the lack of a good word to describe unnecessary, wasteful, or fraudulent projects and leapt upon it with delight.

It wasn’t quite new. The first appearance of the word is actually in a British publication, Punch, on 14 August 1929:

The chief scout has recently been presented by the University of Liverpool with a Degree, and by the scouts of America with a boondoggle. Of the two, I think I should prefer the boondoggle. Great as is the honour conferred by the Seat of Learning, there is a homely flavour about the other gift which touches the heart even more. “Boondoggle.” It is a word to conjure with, to roll around the tongue; an expressive word to set the fancy moving in strange and comforting channels; and it rhymes with “goggle,” “boggle,” and “woggle.” three of the most lighthearted words in the English language.

The Daily Messenger of Canandaigua, New York, explained the background to this puzzling item on 20 August 1931:

The boondoggle, which leaped literally into fame overnight when it was introduced by Rochester Boy Scouts at the jamboree in England, is a braided lanyard on which various things such as whistles can be hung. So fascinating do the boys find it, that they have spent practically all their spare time on the work.

On 6 April 1935, two days after the New York Times article appeared, a contrary view about the origin of the word was published in a syndicated snippet in the Nevada State Journal:

“The word ‘boondoggle’ was coined out of the blue sky by Robert H. Link, eagle scout,” wrote Hastings. “It has absolutely no significance except that it has come to mean a good-looking addition to the uniform.”

Mr Link, later a scoutmaster, was also said to have been its originator in an item in a magazine called Word Study later the same year. He is now often quoted in reference works as its inventor. As all the early appearances of boondoggle — none before 1929 — are in connection with Scouts’ lanyards, it is indeed likely that it was created in that milieu. The stories about cowboys and pioneer days have nothing going for them apart from the guesses of one person reported in the 1935 New York Times article.

Whatever its origin, it was that article that converted boondoggle from a word existing quietly in its own small world to one of public importance and continuing usefulness.

World Wide Words is copyright © Michael Quinion, 1996–2010. All rights reserved.

Your comments and corrections are welcome.

Page created 8 Jun. 2002

Last updated 8 Sep. 2007

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Money, Lies, and Audiotape

2010-02-06T15:48:00.000-08:00

While I was working on a separate blog for High Speed Rail, the whole stinking thing busted open. I have posted about it on Red County http://www.redcounty.com/hsr-contractors-have-some-splainin-do/36578?taxonomy=29

Spokker was right, the folks at CARRD (Palo Alto heroes that others call NIMBYs) tracked the funky ridership numbers back to a memo from the subcontractor showing that numbers were, well, less complete than one might like them to be.

Combined with audiotape I already had of Executive Director Medhi Moshed (I mangle the poor man's name) telling the HSRA Exec Commte that their contractors are getting gifts and trips during a discussion of conflict of interest and reporting policies, we get a pretty good idea of what the contractors are all about.

I, for one, do not want to pay them another nickel of State money until this is fixed, and I will be VERY vocal about it with any leaders who will listen to me!

Stay tuned!

Register Wants to Send HSR Packing

2010-02-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

While the OC Register has been strangely silent on the issue of High Speed Rail, they finally spoke up today in an Editorial piece that was not favorable to HSR's position of continuing to move forward no matter what. The article is here: http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/billion-232277-rail-proponents.html

Most of the HSR Board meetings are held in Sacramento, which leaves many of us unable to go and speak or even sit and watch the proceedings, while they decide what to do in our community without our permission or input. This month's meeting is in San Diego, it is tomorrow at 9 am. I am attending, and taking anyone who wants to carpool. It is in the middle of the workday, so I know it is hard to get away, but if you can manage it, contact me directly and I am happy to pick up anyone who wants to go.

In the meantime, other responsible rail advocates have been networking throughout the State, and people in other communities are having the same problems we see in Anaheim.

1) Lack of public notice or input. While the HSRA says this has all been public information, and they have had meetings, making it seem as though if we do not know about this it is our own fault, let's look at their idea of public notice.

During the Scoping Meeting, the ONLY Anaheim contact on their list for notification was Sherry VanderDussen at the Anaheim Planning Department. I do know that the City posted something to their website, and an email notice went out to some citizens who are on their mailing list. However, that is a pathetic attempt to contact the public. During the Scoping Meeting, they held two meetings per location, at three locations. That is a grand total of six meetings, for a route that runs from Anaheim to Los Angeles. Of those meetings, their own documents show that 100 people TOTAL attended, and there is no record of how many of those attendees were staff from various agencies, union reps from the trade unions, and how many were actual residents and businesses that are affected by the project. In contrast, when we contacted residents through a grassroots network to tell them about the Alternatives Analysis, we had over 150 people attend, in the pouring rain. The citizens of Anaheim are interested in the project, we simply were not adequately notified. This is a trend we see in other communities, and we are comparing notes.

2) Lack of real information related to meetings: After the Scoping Meetings, the HSRA did conduct some outreach meetings, where they showed a video that was information light at best. Maps show an animated arrow traveling from Anaheim to Los Angeles, with no topographic or landmark type marlers to allow the public to orient the location of the train line. The statement that they are using the "LOSSAN Corridor" means nothing to those who do not understand that the LOSSAN is the existing Metrolink line.

3) Murky information: While the HSRA has handed the common citizens generic information, they have been sharing with leaders in Sacramento information that I will graciously categorize as "spun"...when the LAO reviewed the Business Plan (revised because the old numbers did not work) they called out the revelation that private investors would only jump into this program if their investment was guaranteed. But since Prop 1A forbids a taxpayer subsidy, the HSRA will call it a "ridership guarantee" as if that somehow makes it palatable to those of us who pay for that "guarantee". There are too many instances of this obsufucation to count, so I am creating a separate blog specifically to adress issues of HSR and its effect on our area.

Stay tuned, and I will create a separate space so as not to bog down the Anaheim blog with HSR issues, and we can get on to the important work of discussing the upcoming elections, and events in your area.

By the way, if you know of an event or meeting in your area, I would love to post about it, contact me directly to send the info. Cynthia_Ward@sbcglobal.net

Gustavo Arrelano, 4th District Supe, and Neighborhood Council

2010-01-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

Tonight's big event is the Anaheim Historical Society meeting, which is free and open to the public. The guest speaker is Anaheim native and OC Weekly writer Gustavo Arrelano. The meeting is in the Loara Elementary School Auditorium, located at Broadway and Loara Streets. No RSVO needed, come on down.
Last night a group in Fullerton (NUFF) hosted a Candidate's Forum for the 4th District Supervisor's seat vacated by Chris Norby. The 4th District covers the flatlands of Anaheim, and the race is worth watching for all Anaheim citizens. The OC Register's Jennifer Muir did an excellent job of moderating the event, and she posted a recap at http://totalbuzz.freedomblogging.com/2010/01/25/candidates-discuss-issues-exchange-jabs-at-forum/28747/

I also recapped it at Red County http://www.redcounty.com/4th-district-candidates-forum/36150?taxonomy=29

In other Anaheim news, Neighborhood Council meetings are hosted this week for the following areas:

Wednesday, January 27 at 7 pm
Central District Council
Downtown Community Center
250 E. Center Street

Thursday, January 28 at 7 pm
South District Council
Stoddard Elementary School
1841 S. Ninth Street

HSR info from Spokker

2010-01-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

Because I believe in giving equal time to all views, I have posted here the info from Spokker the ghost blogger, who thinks I am a NIMBY. He is right, I do not want this in my backyard. But unlike the usual definition of NIMBY I do not want to shove this into anyone else's backyard either. I would like to find a solution that does not disrupt anyone's backyard at all. A naive goal, I know. To that end, I had asked why this could not run down the I-5 where it would not bother anyone, and here is Spokker's answer. I do appreciate that he took the time to look it up. Thank you.
CW

Spokker says;

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=111791154239862255567.00047db900d7af3d6266a&t=h&ll=33.824785,-117.901985&spn=0.00121,0.00283&z=19

Remember to read the description of the map and remember that it's not 100% accurate due to Google Map's limitations, but I think it paints a pretty good picture overall.

Also, I have looked over the statewide EIR/EIS again and they originally studied four alignments back in the early 2000s.

B1a was the LOSSAN alternative with three tracks.

B1b was the LOSSAN alternative with four tracks.

B2 was the I-5 alternative. There were studying an aerial along the most of the length of the I-5 to Anaheim. In OC it would have followed a frontage road near I-5. A station would have been constructed near the freeway in Anaheim and Norwalk. This one was deemed to be very expensive because of the aerial structures.

B3 was the Pacific Electric right of way. This one would be ideal because it is arrow straight all the way to OC (with a station in Garden Grove). However, it travels through many more residential neighborhoods than the LOSSAN corridor. Many of these neighborhoods are poor, Hispanic communities which would have triggered environmental justice issues. Also, Los Angeles Metro owns this right of way and has plans for possibly light rail on this corridor, which would serve the local residents much better.

B4 was the Union Pacific Santa Ana Branch alignment. This had similar problems that the Pacific Electric right of way had.

As you can see, only the LOSSAN alternatives were carried forward.

All four alignment alternatives were planned to expand further down the coast and into South OC and ultimately San Diego, but unstable coastal bluffs, sensitive habitats and San Juan Capistrano nixed that idea.

Also, I discovered some information about noise. If my research is correct a train horn is 125 db, which is even louder than a high speed train at 110 MPH. In Japan bullet train noise mitigation is an artform as trains travel near residential areas at 186 MPH. Hopefully they can help us out with that issue.

Let's Think This Through

2010-01-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

The big item on my calendar today is the High Speed Rail Authority's presentation on the Alternatives Analysis. The meeting is at City Council Chambers 200 S. Anaheim Blvd. That is the building on the east side of the street where you go for Building Permits, not the one on the west side where you pay the utility bill you forgot. Park in the covered parking structure behind City Hall, take the covered walkway bridge to the 2nd floor, and down the elevator or stairs to Council Chambers, you never get wet, so not showing up for the rain is no excuse. They will have the information for us Open House style from 5 to 7 pm, with a presentation at 5:30.

The issues I see with this plan are that first and foremost we need to be included in the process as citizens. The State has known for a year that they could not use the shared track they originally pitched to us, and they would have to build either an expensive tunnel or take homes, businesses, and public space to make it work. Why wait so long to share that with us, and then only because I threatened to go to the press?

The other issue is the route chosen. I have spoken to people in many areas of the City, even those not immediately affected, and nobody (other than Spokker the ghost blogger) wants this thing running At Grade through the middle of our town. Curt's tunnel may be doable, and if it is the only answer then I can live with it, although I am reluctant to pay for it.

Why not somewhere else? Why does it have to remain along a rail line that was designed and laid out 100 years ago, for the needs of those residents in the Victorian era? If we must remain At Grade for the sake of cost, why not run it where there is already open space? The 5 Freeway would allow it to run from San Diego to the top of California, conceivably even into Oregon, Washington, and Canada if need be. Curt Pringle could have a truly international rail system, with only Cal Trans to battle instead of every Mayor up and down the rail line who are already pissed off.

I do not think we are being unreasonable to say that High Speed Rail is a good idea in theory, but the concept of building it at all costs, no matter the expense or the disruption to communities, is not what we want. Now let's take a step back, breathe, and work together to do a great project. If we miss the deadline we miss the deadline. Shoving through a bad idea just to beat a dot on the calendar is how Obamacare is being ramrodded, and folks do not like that either.

Fight Eminent Domain in Anaheim!

2010-01-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

As a follow up to the last post of the WAND meeting, I have to say that the State's lack of public disclosure regarding High Speed Rail shocks even me. It became very clear, and Councilwoman Kring confirmed my suspicions, that even the Anaheim City Council has yet to be presented with the Alternatives Analysis that lists the properties the State will take by eminent domain if the rail remains At Grade. It is essential that we attend the meeting on Wednesday, January 20, City Council Chambers. The information is available Open House style from 5 pm to 7 pm, and a presentation will be made at 5:30 pm.

It is very important that we share the following information, to be placed in the public record:

1) This meeting is the first opportunity that Anaheim citizens have had to review the Alternatives Analysis. There is an assumption in Sacramento that because Anaheim is not screaming bloody murder like other cities, that we are OK with the plan. That would make sense, how could Sacramento imagine our own Mayor had not bothered to tell us about this? So make sure that you fill out a comment card or speak at Public Comments if they allow it, and make the point that we have NOT been informed prior to this!

2) The At Grade alternative takes property by eminent domain, and is unnacceptable. We want a Deep Bore Tunnel that avoids disruption of homes and businesses, as well as utilities. There is a fear of where will the money come from for a tunnel. But at a meeting of the State Legislature's Transportation Committeee, Curt Pringle said that the Federal Government, in their requirements for the Federal Stimulus funds, required us to list the MOST EXPENSIVE scenario imaginable to base our budgets on. While this was a vague statement during a larger review by the LAO of the HSR Business Plan, that would appear to me to say that we have already budgeted for the tunnel, so let's demand it!

3) We want more public input for the project, to ensure that we are notified of any changes in the future. Be sure to sign up for mailing lists while you are there, and stay informed. These people are under immense pressure to complete the paperwork. The entire statewide Environmental Report (an overwhelming document) must be finished by September of 2011, in order to qualify for the Federal stimulus funds! These people have no incentive to come back and tell us if something has changed, as we have seen by the way this Alternatives Analysis has been handled. Running information past us might just result in us objecting to it, which creates delays. Delays run the risk of not completing the Environmental Report. Now I would not say that anyone would deliberately hide information from the public to get a multi-billion dollar project done, at least not in my outside voice that gets me sued. But I will just ask you to stay on these people, ask for additional mailings, be sure that we stay informed and involved.

Here is a list of the properties affected if the train remains At Grade. I have listed the rather generic wording that the HSR people used to describe the properties in red, and then I follow with notes I have on each property. I am afraid i seem to have lost the ability to pull up the photos I had shot of these properties, when my computer died and I replaced it. But I hope this gives you a better overview of what is at stake.

Approx. 35' wide ROW takes are needed along the west side of the corridor between Vermont Ave. to the south and North St, to the north. adjacent to the west side of the 50' ROW there are approx 1.5 miles of industrial property takes, 0.7 miles of residential takes, and 0.2 mile park take.

Starting in the south, between Vermont Ave. and South St. there are three Industrial buildings that are within the ROW take area. The southern two buildings immediately abut on the ROW and would lose approximately 35' of building area (approx. 20% of the entire buildings).the northern most building has about a 15' setback from the ROW and would lose approx. 20' of the building area (approx. 20% of the entire building).there is also a parking area that would lose approx. 35' of space and between 20 and 30 parking spaces.

NOTE: These buildings include 2 pieces of the L3 Communications Campus. This defense contractor employs 500 people, according to their website, most on the Anaheim Campus. They build high tech weapons systems, work that is not easily relocated to another site and work that provides higher income pay scales for skilled workers.

L3 Communications

IEC

707 E. Vermont Street

The third building on the block is shown in public records as American Management Consultants

The number of employees is unknown, but their work in Immigration and Naturalization processing may trigger some Social Justice issues under CEQA, which is not mentioned in the Alternatives Analysis.

American Management Consultants

700 E. South Street

North of South St. the ROW abuts recently constructed high-density residential units. Parking and auto access are constructed directly adjacent to the ROW. With the approx. 35' wise ROW take focused on these areas. But, additionally ROW will be required elsewhere to replace the affected parking and auto access areas.

NOTE: Colony Park recently constructed as RDA affordable project, in first phase of multi-phase project. The consultants also fail to list the loss of a cell tower in the background.

Between South St. and Santa Ana St. There are three industrial buildings with parking spaces and storage area. The southern building is new and is set back from the ROW approx. 30 to 35 feet. Loading areas run along the eastern side of the building. The loading areas would be lost and it is uncertain if the building would be affected. Just to the north of this building is a parking lot that would lose approx. 35' of space and between 40 and 50 parking spaces. North of the parking lot is a smaller older industrial building with a storage area to the north of it that would probably require a take of the entire property.

NOTE: The consultants are describing the old Kwikset site, which shows a clear lack of contact to the City of Anaheim, as the development of this parcel into the next phase of Colony Park has been on the books for years. In addition, the City Council approved the next phase of development to this site, AFTER the Alternatives Analysis was released.

Between Santa Ana St. and Broadway there are three industrial buildings with parking spaces and storage area. The southernmost building is sufficiently set back so as not to be affected, but it would the storage area it has between the building and the ROW. The industrial building immediately to the north abuts on the ROW and it would lose approx. 35' of building area (approx. 33% of the entire building). Just to the north of this building is a parking lot that would lose approx. 35' of space and between 20 and 30 parking spaces. North of the parking lot is an industrial building that is setback approx. 20' from the ROW, and thus approx 15' of the building area would be taken (approx. 15% of the entire building).

NOTE: this description refers to Firmenich, an Anaheim employer that creates fragrances and flavorings for the food industry (AKA the smell factory. Not much information is available on the internet, but one may assume by the size of the site and the full parking lots during business hours that this is a major employer, who does not seem to have space to spare. In addition, the site was originally developed as MCP foods, when Herb Leo pioneered the manufacture of stabilized pectin, which changes the citrus industry in California. Herb Leo’s Anaheim home was declared historically significant, and if original structures remain on campus there is the potential for them to qualify for Local and State historic recognition.

Between Broadway and Lincoln Ave. there is a mini park (Citrus Park) and associated parking lot, and the Y Children’s Station (located in the former UP Railroad Station building). The park would lose a 35' wide strip of land along the ROW (approx. 30% of the parks land area). And approx. five parking spaces. The Y Children’s Station building would be a total take. The parkland lost to the widening could be recouped on the excess land gained by the take of the Y Children’s Station property

NOTE: YMCA Train Station is historically significant, according to maps of historic resources provided by the City of Anaheim. This lack of documentation further proves the consultants lack of communication with those agencies and organizations commonly contacted during CEQA compliance. In addition, the City of Anaheim’s Redevelopment Agency recently funded the relocation and rehabilitation of the structure, as well as taxpayer funding for the newly created Citrus Park. Citrus Park is also the only open space in the immediate area, in a City that lags behind Manhattan for green space, according to a recent report by the Kennedy Commission.

Between Lincoln Ave. and Cypress St. there are four single family (SF) houses that are set back approx. 20' from the ROW (location of their backyard fence). The two southern SF houses are separated by the two northern SF houses by a private mini park with tot lot and basketball court uses. The 35' ROW widening would take the entire backyard of the southernmost SF house, which has approx. 15' of backyard area. This would place the back of the house immediately on the property line. Thus, this would have to potential to take this SF house. The other three SF houses have larger backyards and would lose about 15' of area but keeping 20' of backyard between the house and the property line. The tot lot and the basketball area would have to relocate on the private park area.

NOTE: Newer KB Homes, ironically developed to replace older bungalows taken out by a previous transportation project to grade separate the railroad.

Between Cypress St. and Adele St. There is an industrial use the immediately abuts the ROW. The land closest to the ROW is used for parking/storage. The closest point of the building is set back from the property line by approx. 35'. It appears the 35' widening would only remove eastern most parking/storage areas; there appears to be ample parking/storage area on the west side of the building,

NOTE: This company makes trailers and transportation equipment. The parking lot was full on a holiday, and overflows during workdays.

Between Adele St. and Sycamore St. there are two industrial uses separated by an alley. The southernmost of the two uses abuts the ROW and the 35' widening would require the taking of this property. The northern industrial use has one building and parking/storage area within the 35' widening area. The building appears to be a storage building. This use should be able to continue in operation after the widening.

NOTE: The northern industrial use is actually the headquarters for a landscape company. While the taking of the parking and storage area does not remove a structure, it renders the rear building entirely inaccessible to employees, the equivalent of a take.

Between Sycamore St. and Wilhelmina St. there is one long industrial building that abuts the ROW. The 35' widening would require the taking of this property.

NOTE: This structure is divided into multiple "for lease" units, impacting many employers, and depleting Anaheim’s income from business taxes. Also calculate loss of sales tax, building materials are revenue generators.

Limited ROW takes needed at grade separations to preserve access to properties facing lowered streets.

NOTE: Remember what happened the last time government grade separated something in the Colony? Go look at how many homes were taken out by the Lincoln underpass and tell me this is a good thing.

If this scares you as much as it scares me, please attend the meeting on Wednesday, make it clear that we want a Deep Bore Tunnel, or no train at all! Thank you.

WAND Reviews ARTIC and HIGH SPEED RAIL

2010-01-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

W.A.N.D. MEETING

West Anaheim Neighborhood Development Council

Presents:

COUNCIL MEMBER LUCILLE KRING

speaking about

ARTIC, Transportation Issues in Anaheim

Police Update:

Sgt. Sharon Pietrok, Anaheim Police Department
Following Councilwoman Kring will be Cynthia Ward with an update on High Speed Rail and its potential impact to Anaheim.

Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 – 7 p.m.

Location: Maxwell School Multipurpose Room

2613 W. Orange Avenue, Anaheim

Questions? Please contact Esther Wallace at 714-828-5526

Eminent Domain returns to Anaheim as White House celebrates 100 years!

2010-01-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

Today's post is the official notice of the upcoming meeting for High Speed Rail, scheduled to carve up Anaheim like Sherman's March to the sea. No, I am not kidding. If the plan remains to build the system At Grade, as described in the Alternatives Analysis, there will be right of way takings under eminent domain. I spent the other day photographing the properties that will be lost, and will post those with the pertinent portions of the AA, as my time allows. For now, I would enourage you to open and save the notice here, and please share it with anyone you know who needs to hear about these plans. I am especially concerned about the lack of notice to those businesses and homes that are directly in the path of the project. The State's consultant team has done what can only be described as an information-light job of public outreach to date. Oh yeah, they have done meetings, we have all seen the slick, glossy sales pitch of bullet trains zipping across the screen. My gripe here is that I cannot recall that presentation saying anything about private property takes, or night time construction in residential areas. Nor can anyone I know recall that message being conveyed to us. Heck, checking over the City's listing of workshops and presentations to City Council, I cannot find evidence that the Council has even been told of the Alternative Analysis, and its impact on properties in the City. The last HSRA workshop to the Council was here http://anaheim.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=357 and it was essentially the same presentation we saw. At least Parsons Brinckerhoff did bother to share one sentence with Council, that if they could not get shared track they may have to widen the right of way with takes. I cannot find any evidence that they notified anyone that this is indeed the case, nor that they have already selected the properties they wish to take.

Part of the communication breakdown has been the decision to break the largest transportation project in California history into many mini-projects, each with their own project teams. The purpose was to make a large and unweildy project more manageable, much like eating an elephant one bite at a time. The result has been a complete obsufucation of information, as the State's right hand does not tell the State's left hand what it is doing. To avoid any slight of hand in that handshake, some volunteers have been transcribing the public meetings into written form, which comes in handy, should you need to remind an elected official that they did indeed promise you the sun, moon, and stars. I understand that anyone with the ability to use a keyboard can do this, and there is a tremendous need for more helping hands to transcribe the meetings. If you can spare some time, and you are one of those sick individuals like myself who actually LIKES sitting through these meetings, watching the political chess game unfold, your people need you. Contact me directly and I will put you in touch with folks who know what they are doing (don't look at me, I can barely text message).

In happier news, Bruno Serato shared his new "West Wing" (which sits on the East Lawn, but I digress) with the people of Anaheim, as we celebrated the 100th birthday of the historic Gervais-Truxaw house, now the White House Restaurant. http://www.anaheimwhitehouse.com/ Bruno was quite relieved to see that Mayor Curt Pringle arranged for Bruno's name to be set in a larger font than the Mayor's, on a plaque for the building. While technically the construction of a new, non-contributing structure set in front of a National Register structure would be a violation of the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, I am told that the West Wing banquet center is temporary, and portable, and there are plans to move it as soon as additional space can be purchased on the block. That means that the party pavilion is a reversible change, and I am going to encourage the preservation community to give a little wiggle room, as long as it remains a temporary fix. I am far more interested in preserving the house itself. Not everyone knows that the White House Restaurant received the very first Mills Act contract in the City of Anaheim, qualifying for that property tax reduction as a National Register property. Bruno clearly has a lot more work to do on the house, and we are grateful for any of the innapropriate changes that Bruno is able to reverse on this wonderful landmark property!

http://www.anaheimwhitehouse.com/about/caterina.php

The Anaheim White House feeds a hot dinner to every child in the Boys and Girls Club, every week night. For many of these kids, this is the only hot food they will eat all week. Here's best wishes to the man with the biggest heart in Anaheim.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

From the Ward Family

The State is Getting Us A Choo Choo For Christmas

2009-12-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

I will include more details in an upcoming post, but for now I will refer folks to the post I ran at Red County regarding High Speed Rail, and its impact on Anaheim. http://www.redcounty.com/a-train-christmas/35163

I am off to finish last minute shopping...at the GardenWalk.

Shopping for Someone to Blame at the GardenWalk

2009-12-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

Today's Register covers more than one tragedy. The first is the report that "The Shops at GardenWalk" has defaulted on their sizable loan, and may face foreclosure. Let's face it, no bank wants a shopping center on their hands, so I hope they are able to work out a deal on the payments. I happen to love the GardenWalk, I love the shops, I love the restaurants, and their movie theater has spoiled me for anywhere else. Those who complain about its stark concrete have clearly not been there recently, as the center has grown out of its "new construction" look, and the greenery is filling in beautifully. If you have not visited lately, brave the parking garage (yeah, its disorienting, but its not brain surgery, and they have been working on signage) and go do some last minute Christmas shopping with deeply discounted quality merch and (sadly) no crowds.

The second great tragedy of this story was that the Register chose to interview Coucilwoman and wine bar owner Lucille Kring of all people for feedback. As usual, Lucille plays the blame game, laying the fault for her poor business decisions on the shoulders of the GardenWalk. Councilwoman Kring claims the management of the center somehow tricked her into signing a lease for a bad location. Once again, Lucille fails to think ahead, regrets a poor choice, and then blames others to excuse herself. Lucille, the reason your business is failing has nothing to do with the center you are in. Before opening a wine bar, or any other endeavor in the hospitality industry, one should actually LIKE people, and want to welcome them. Abrasively insisting that others concede to your wishes, whether it is what they want to do or not, does not make for good public policy, and it sure doesn't sell wine. "If we had a crystal ball, we wouldn't have signed the lease", she says. Well, lots of folks are successful in business, without the use of crystal balls. We use a little something called common sense. The people of this town did not need a crystal ball to see that the SunCal deal, which benefitted Lucille's best developer-buddy while shafting the rest of the city, was a bad idea. Had we gone with the unholy trinity of Kring, Hernandez, and Galloway, we would have sacrificed the potential of a TOT generating property, and been left with a half-finished construction project, abandoned when SunCal went under. But run into her today, and she will tell you she never would have voted for that project (then why did she?) and that she had a compromise. Well the time to demand a compromise from a developer is BEFORE you approve their ill-conceived project, and the time to negotiate a better space in a center is BEFORE you sign the lease!

Lucille's judgement is not to be trusted, but it has nothing to do with an otherwise delightful shopping center.

political rabble rousing

2009-12-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

So it's not exclusive to Anaheim, but I just stumbled across this blog and have to share. Love it.

http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/

Have Yourself a Strip Mall Little Christmas

2009-12-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

For your amusement, we have photos of Lincoln Avenue in 1971, courtesy of the Anaheim Public Library's History Room. These shots are Lincoln and Anaheim Blvd, and Lincoln and Lemon Street. No, our little Vons Center that now occupies the space is not an aesthetically pleasing substitute for the donwtown we once had. On the bright side, they do bother to decorate it, so we will take our victories where we find them.

City Council Report

2009-12-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night's City Council meeting was an interesting mix of celebration and tragedy. The opening segment featured the winners of the Anaheim Beautiful Christmas Lights contest, and it was incredible to see the efforts folks put into their homes, even with the economy being the way it is. See the winners at http://www.anaheim.net/article.asp?id=2084

Once the awards were given, the frustration began. Anaheim faces a $6 million budget shortfall this year. Of that $6mil, half of it will be cut from Community Services, which manages parks, libraries, etc. The head of Community Services, Terry Lowe, is a good man, who truly cares about his staff and his community, and this has to be killing him. Terry understands his payroll is not made up of numbers on employee badges, but names, and people, and families, and mortgages, and at this time of year, Christmas presents. Members of the unions who represent our employees packed the Chambers, begging for their jobs. Members of the community came to speak about how hard these people work. I do not think anyone in that room is saying that staff does not deserve their jobs, everyone gets how hard they work. The issue is how to cover those paychecks once they are written. Six million bucks is a lot of change to scrounge out of the couch cushions, and I do not envy the City Council, or the Department heads right now. Everyone wants to keep these folks working, the frustration is funding the funds. Kudos to City Council for stopping to respond to Public Comments, and reassure these workers that they are not cutting willy-nilly.

Then the frustration really began. For decades our Redevelopment staff has been issuing Rehab Loans, to homeowners in need of money for improvements. The loans carry a low interest rate, and are "silent seconds", paid back at the time of refinance or sale of the property. As the loans are repaid, the money is cycled into more loans, which regenerates improvements in perpetuity. But at least three of our Council members instructed staff to look into shifting the loans into grants. They wanted to give away home improvements valued at $10k each, to homeowners whose properties had a "high percentage of code and graffitti problems."
http://www.anaheim.net/docs_agend/questys_pub/MG25543/AS25582/AS25585/AI28877/DO28889/1.pdf
Eventually the fund would be depleted, in an economic environment when that money will not be replaced by other sources. Council members Kring, Hernandez, and Sidhu all copped to suggesting this, which surprised me since it sounded like a Galloway scheme. I admit it, I fear for our City when Curt Pringle leaves, as he was the only one who caught this insanity, pulled it from the Consent Calendar, and wrestled it to the ground before killing it.

It would be kind of fun if we could figure out how to take those Community Service employees, many of whom specialize in laying sod, planting trees, painting buildings, fixing lights, and put them to work improving the neighborhoods that need the rehab money.

Moving To The Big Time

2009-12-03T17:05:00.000-08:00

Because I have such copious amounts of spare time on my hands, I am now raising Cain over at Red County as a political blogger. http://www.redcounty.com/anaheim-newbies/34435

Come make trouble with me, the grown ups are letting me play with their toys.

Christmas In Anaheim

2009-12-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

Anaheim celebrates Christmas in a BIG way, in all of our neighborhoods. Coming up this weekend, we have the Downtown Anaheim Nutcracker Tree Lighting, on Center Street Promenade, Saturday, December 5. The event begins at 10 am with a street fair, and crafts for the kiddies. The tree lighting is from 6-7 pm. The event is FREE and you can check the site for details at http://www.downtownanaheim.com/.

For those on the West side, the 12th Annual Tree Lighting is scheduled for 6pm, Friday the 4 at Twila Reid Park, 3100 W. Orange Avenue. RSVP to wandtreelighting@yahoo.com

Also Friday night, at 6:30 pm, the Anaheim Historical Society invites the public to the Annual Victorian Christmas celebration at the historic Woelke-Stoffel House. The Queen Anne Victorian mansion has been decorated for the holidays, and the AHS is offering a selection of desserts and beverages, with historic holiday cheer. Non-members are invited, come see the work AHS does in the community. Gifts will be available to purchase for that history lover on your list, including Sesquicentennial blankets for those who missed them, Steve Faessels books on Anaheim, and of course DVDs of Huell Howser's visit to Anaheim with yours truly. The event is FREE, donations and new memberships always accepted. The Woelke-Stoffel house is located at 418 N. West Street, between Lincoln and Sycamore. On street parking is available, with a drop-off point for those with mobility issues.

Mother Earth Meets Father TIme

2009-11-30T10:11:00.001-08:00

This weekend the OC Register (click on title for link) covered a story regarding solar panels on an historic property in South County. Since "the greenest building is the one already built", and historic preservation is the ultimate expression of recycling, it stands to reason that preservationists would be attracted to the concept of eco-friendly energy. Sadly, technology does not as yet allow many of us to be good stewards of energy while being good stewards of our historic homes. Solar panels are, well, they are ugly. I am unlikely to put them on a street-facing roofline of my home, even if permitted. I would consider them for a rear facing roofline of a garage, but ours faces the wrong direction. In the case of the South County property, they managed to drop them below the line of visibility, on a parapet flat roof of a Pueblo-Revival style structure, so they make sense in that location. What I am waiting for is preservation friendly energy products.

At home, we did manage to re-create our garden in an eco-friendly manner that honors the period of our 1908 home. By using underground irrigation systems run by a Smart Timer, and planting California natives that do not require much water, we tripled our landscaping while LOWERING our water bill from the same period last year. I am also considering interior storm windows to "dual pane" the bedroom windows during the neighbors parties, because they do not affect the exterior look of the house, and they are reversible. But there is so much more that could be done. A new roof tile has been developed that doubles as a solar panel, but appears as an "S" curve Spanish tile. So far they only come in black, so it is still jarring on a red tile roof, and there are no other "shingle" type applications that I have found. But somone out there is thinking ahead.

The big debate we see in Anaheim is over artificial turf. I admit I have a strip of driveway we have replanted repeatedly with no success, I cannot get lawn to grow there, and ONLY lawn is appropriate for a mow-strip drive on a period home. Some of the higher end fake turfs look pretty darned good, and I am tempted. I consider artificial turf to be a reversible change that does not affect the historic structure itself, and therefore should be allowable under a Mills Act contract. Others disagree, rather vocally. I would love to hear other viewpoints, with reasons for pro or con. I would also love to hear about how others have handled making their old homes a little friendlier to Mother Earth. And no, this is not a debate for or against global warming, I simply would rather spend our hard earned paychecks on Bradbury wallpaper rather than my energy and water bills.

Union Workers Choose to Work Sick!

2009-11-19T13:26:00.000-08:00

Sarah Tully reports in her "Around Disney" blog (see link above) that despite Disney's overwhelming efforts to curb the spread of flu in the Resort, there are still members of the Unite Here Labor Union that are undermining their efforts by deliberately coming to work knowing they are sick! Their selfish excuse? Their own Union cancelled their sick pay benefits to save money during a dispute over their contract with Disney. That's right, Disney did not cancel the sick pay, the Union did! How is it that 30 other Unions have accepted the new contract from Disney, which I understand gives them greatly expanded benefits, but the Unite Here Union has refused to even meet with Disney to further discuss the issues. The Union's position seems to be "Our Way or the Highway". Sorry Ada Briseno, but this is still the United States, and business owners still have the right to make their own best offer, YOU take it or leave it. As far as those employees that knowingly work when sick, I think they not only should be fired, I think they should lose their Safety and Sanitation certificates, preventing them from working with food in the future. Fire them, Mickey! If the goal of the Union in releasing this information to Sarah Tully was to scare off guests, it didn't work. I was just there today, the place is jumping, and folks are stopping to use the hand sanitizer stations, expressing gratitude to The Mouse for caring about their guests and Cast Members. In case you were wondering, today's Register reports that Knott's is doing NOTHING different in their handling of a public venue during a flu outbreak. Somebody hand me a churro.

Disney Ahead of Its Time as Mouse Beats Swine

2009-11-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

With swine flu making every public area a virus bath, where is one supposed to feel safe? Do not get me started about the shopping mall, where I have to go find gifts for everyone I have ever known while surrounded by sick people who refuse to stay home. So what's a family supposed to do for fun without risking their health? The Happiest Place on Earth of course! Disney already has a stellar reputation for steam cleaning the Heck out of the place at night, but now they are taking the lead to make a visit to the House of Mouse a healthier alternative to that pre-Christmas shopping mall. Look around the park, you will see public hand sanitizer stations, with notices that one may also purchase bottle of sanitizer to keep with you, for a BUCK. I can't buy it that cheap at the store! They have also provided sanitizer to Cast Members with high Guest contact, and they have upped their cleaning schedules for surfaces that are "high touch" like drinking fountains and pay phones. They are training their Cast Members on how to handle sick Guests, and have overhauled the way their Cast members handle cleaning hotel rooms. And yet, despite knowing this, mean old Mom will not allow beloved teen to cut school and go to Disneyland instead. Yes, pumpkin, I know Disneyland is way safer than your germ ridden school a block away, but you will have to wait for the weekend. The good news is, I feel safe taking my kids there this weekend, so I can enjoy a visit before my pass expires for the season! Once again, the Mouse makes a good neighbor. I may just have to buy my Christmas gifts there and skip the mall altogether. My circle of homies have never complained about Disney merch for the holidays.

Why Do We Dream So Small?

2009-11-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

"Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not be realized. Make big plans, aim high in hope and work, remembering that a nobler, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty."

Daniel Burnham, master architect of the the 1893 Exposition

We, the people of Anaheim, descend from dreamers, people who either settled here when Juan Pacifico Ontiveros insisted the entire region could not support a goat, or brave folk who left family and friends behind to settle a growing region in recent years. But whether we came recently, or have been here for generations, we are dreamers, lured by the California promise of a better life. So can someone please tell me why our kids play at Glover Stadium which looks like something from South Central Los Angeles, while we spend $200k for a Rose Parade float glorifying a baseball team we recently sued for humiliating us? Anyone?

I admit, I love Mondays, they are like the calendar equivalent of a blank sheet of paper waiting to be drawn upon. But then I pick up the newspaper and see how small and petty and unimaginative some of our Civic dreams are, and it is tough to drive past City Hall without screaming in futility. Why is it that so few of our leaders understand how to dream big dreams? Why can they not see how amazing our City could be with a little attention, a little love, and a whole lot of paint and trees? Just wondering on a Monday morning.

Anaheim Mourns the Loss of One of Our Own

2009-11-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle ordered flags on City buildings flown at half-staff in honor of the loss of Anaheim resident Justin Swanson, a 21 year old Lance Corporal in the Marines, who has lost his life in Afghanistan. Swanson was based at Camp Pendleton, with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Marine Expeditionary Force.

The prayers of many go out to the friends and family of Justin Swanson.

Do We Trust This Woman With Even More of Our Money?

2009-11-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

Last year I thought NOTHING could be more depressing than seeing Lorri Galloway ooze her way back into her City Council seat, enabling her to drain even more of the life blood from Anaheim's citizens. Oh, don't hold back, Cynthia, tell us how you REALLY feel. But before the final votes were counted, my beloved Mother In Law was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, and I found the one thing that could devastate me worse than Anaheim politics. So for those who have been asking, no, I did not give up on Council Watching. I just had a heart to mend, and an estate to close out. But we are approaching the one year Anniversary of losing my beautiful Marianna, and it is time to get back in the game. So for all you No On Galloway fans, we are back.

How has Lorri been surviving in this down market? While non-profits are overwhelmingly reporting lost revenue, Lorri seems to be doing just fine with the Eli Home. Let's take a look at some of the reported donations to the Eli Home, a non-profit of which Lorri Galloway is Executive Director, and from which she derives her income. These donations were listed on the Eli Home website (link above) for the year 2008:

Anaheim Police Association
Anaheim Firefighters Association

**Galloway has openly and for the record advocated to greatly expand pay and benefits for public safety workers, while jobs in other areas of the City remain unfilled. Anaheim public safety personnel are already some of the best compensated in the region, but she routinely demands more, from a budget hemorrhaging from losses. But I am sure that is a simple coincidence that those groups donate to her non-profit and walk precincts and put up signs during the election.

Anaheim Public Utilities (uh...aren't they under her authority?)

Clear Channel (these would be the same people she was fighting to give more billboard space to recently)

Kenwood Investments LLC (the developer in negotiation with Redevelopment for the Packing House block. City Council serves as the Redevelopment Agency, and she will be called upon to vote for or against this developer)

Regent Development OC LLC (they have submitted plans for the Convention Center expansion, to be determined by City Council. I can see your surprise from here)

Sheldon Group (consultants who represent developers all over the city, with plans up for approval from City Council)

Now this is only a partial list, the website has 2 pages worth. These are just the names that jump out at me in a quick glance through the list. I assume that Galloway got some sort of ruling out of Jack White that it is OK to collect donations for the non-profit from which your personal income is derived from people doing business with the City. And perhaps the FPPC has ruled that it is OK, although I will be finding that out for myself. But in the end, being within legal limits is not the same as doing what it right. Looking over these donations, ask yourself, is this someone you trust to have not sold her vote? Because now Galloway wants to run for County Supervisor, where she would be swimming in an even bigger pool of our money, with even larger stakes for special interests. Is that an office we want to send her to? I 'm thinking NO.

Anaheim Websites

2009-11-10T17:30:00.000-08:00

West Anaheim Neighborhood Development Council (WAND) will not meet this month, due to Veteran's Day. They do not meet in December, so their next meeting will be held Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at Maxwell School. They will be gathering for their 12th Annual Holiday Magic Christmas Tree Lighting at Twila Reed Park, Friday, December 4, at 6 pm. You can catch up with WAND at their new website, www.wandcouncil.org.

South District Neighborhood Council has also just completed a new website, you can catch up with them at www.SouthAnaheimNeighborhoodCouncil.org

Meghan Shigo also has Michelle Lieberman working on the Colony website. The website had initially been built by Mike Tucker, but Meghan took over the money sucking project when Mike and his lovely (and patient) wife Jennifer abandoned ship for Albuquerque. Check out the new calendar function at http://anaheimcolony.com. For those who miss Mike, you can catch up with him at www.besthomesnm.com

Paper Clip Project

2009-11-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

Introducing a new blog by Anaheim Colony resident Dan Harrison. The Harrisons have a fabulous mid-century treasure, featured in Atomic Ranch magazine, and the glossy coffee table book. http://atomic-ranch.com/

Dan is conducting an experiment as part if his degree program, but I will let him explain it to you here. Looks like fun, but then the Harrisons always are. http://colonypaperclip.blogspot.com/

Ignorance, Thy Name is Registered Voter

2009-11-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

While only parts of Anaheim are in Assembly District 72, it seems the venom is spewing all over the City, as candidates who appear to have few moral values try to take the seat of someone proven to have no moral values. This is an improvement? Chris Norby appears to be pulling WAY out ahead in both polls and funding, proving once again that voters will overlook a skirt chasing hound dog's wayward activities if it benefits them. Me, I have a hard time trusting a man who cannot keep his promises to his own wife. On the other hand, Ackerman does not appear to be an improvement, as her only campaign strategy appears to be knocking Norby, without ever giving us reasons to vote for her as an option. I have also long been opposed to carpetbagging politicians, I believe you cannot represent an area you are not firmly entrenched in. Nobody but a long time resident understands the unique challenges of a community, and renting an apartment just before an election just does not cut it. Faher appears to be a raging nutcase. I know little of MacMurray, other than that he is a schoolteacher with a website of grammatical errors who is endorsed by Labor Unions who have irritated me lately, so he may not have my vote. Rands is another candidate I know only through a website, and while I agree with her stand on Prop 8 (go ahead and send the angry emails, when we as Christians perfect that whole "love each other" thing, then and only then will be be in a position to dictate "thou shalt not") I do not understand how she plans to create "health care without insurance companies getting in the way".

Come November 17, I may very well sit at home, for the first election of my life. The alternative is a write-in campaign for "None of the Above", forcing a new election, with none of the current candidates permitted to run again. Give us new choices. E-gad, perhaps we should have let Sidhu carpetbag this one.

Oddly enough, while my period-appropriate-yet-useless mailbox is routinely filled with mudslinging garbage, my Mom's little senior community has received NO mailings at all, from either side. I checked, and they are in the District (sometimes hard to tell with the way the gerrymandered boundaries jog back and forth) and they did receive ballots for the Special Election. Yet none of the candidates considered them worthy of glossy colored hit pieces. Had I known they wanted them I would gladly have forfeited mine. Instead, they sent Mom to ask me who to vote for. Now is that about the scariest thing ever? Rather than check out the candidates for themselves, an entire neighborhood of high-propensity voters is counting on mailers to help determine who to vote for. And in the absence of mailers they will now depend on a local activist that many of them have never met before. These are people who would not lend me their cars, but will allow me to influence their most precious rights as Americans. All I can say is, if I have this much of a voice around here, the line to offer me "consulting contracts" begins at the front porch, no appointments before 9 am please. For all others willing to do their homework, here are the websites for the candidates.

John MacMurray, Democrat from La Habra
Schoolteacher
http://www.macmurray4the72nd.com/

Linda Ackerman, Carpetbagging Republican from Irvine now Fullerton
http://www.ackermanforassembly.com/

Richard Faher, Republican, Placentia Businessman
http://www.richardfaher.com/

Chris Norby, Republican, Will chase women from any city, but goes home to his wife in Fullerton (this week at least)
http://www.norby10.com/

Jane Rands, Green Party, System Engineer from Fullerton
http://www.janerandsforassembly.com/

Halloween Returns to Anaheim

2009-11-01T15:47:00.000-08:00

Anaheim has long been Halloween-happy, and I am glad to report the town is returning to its old celebrations. Now before you get in a wad over the Christianity vs. Halloween debate, allow me to give some background. In the 1920s, the KKK, posing as a men's Bible Study, managed to infiltrate Anaheim, taking a City Council majority, and controlling both the Police and Fire Departments. (It's OK, we did throw them out)Some of our civic leaders were not as easily deceived by the masses, and Lotus Loudon, Publisher of the local newspaper, created a Halloween celebration as "a better use for a bedsheet". Storefronts were decorated by local schoolkids, with awards for the winners, which brought shoppers downtown to look at the windows. A kiddie parade in the daytime was followed by an adult parade at night, which involved literally every civic group in town. To not have your group represented with a float was unheard of, and in some circles, downright unpatriotic. The culmination of the festivities was the Masquerade Ball, which was the social occasion of the year. Sadly, our misguided leaders of past regimes bulldozed the downtown that the parade ran through, which pretty much took the party out of it all. Thankfully, folks like the Fall Festival Committee have been working hard to bring back the Parade and Ball. This year's theme was Return to Oz, and the Masquerade Ball featured awards given to those community members showing Brains, Courage, and Heart. Winners were:

Dr.'s Tom and Cynthia Coad for Courage
Kiwanis of Greater Anaheim for Heart
George Adams for Brains
Janet Lee for Glenda
Debbie Herman for Auntie Em
Anna Kunkle for Lolly Pop
Anaheim Interfaith Shelter/Halcyon for Yellow Brick Road
Disney VoluntEARS/Disneyland Resorts for Munchkin Land

Glad to see our civic spirit returning to Anaheim! I have to serve one more year of indentured servitude to Mr. Schroeder's Loara Band Tournament that same weekend, and then I can participate too! Congrats to the winners, and thanks to the Fall Festival Committee for all your hard work, often against overwhelming odds.

Welcome Back George Kalogridis

2009-10-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

In the wake of Ed Grier's retirement from Disney, we locals have been wondering who would be brought in to head the House of Mouse. "Mickey" announced today that George Kalogridis will be returning to Anaheim, as President of the Disneyland Resort. The 38-year Disney veteran has been at Disneyland Paris for the last 3 years. where he was responsible for the 2 theme parks, 7 hotels, and Disney Village. Prior to Paris he had worked here in Anaheim, opening Disney's California Adventure, and Downtown Disney. Kalogridis started out as a busboy in 1971, and worked his way up. Someone needs to point that out to Ada Briseno, because Disney is only a dead-end job if you make it one. Work hard, get an education, and Disney can be a great career move. Or, you can dress up in a mouse suit and get arrested in front of the press. Your choice. Welcome George, and good luck finishing the DCA expansion, we are all rooting for you.

Ray Donley Exhibit at Sarah Bain Gallery

2009-10-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 10 from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm, the Sarah Bain Gallery in Downtown Anaheim is hosting a Reception with artist Ray Donley. "Earthly Pleasures, Fierce Realities", runs from October 6 to November 3. Enjoy food, wine, and the company of artist Ray Donley. The artist holds 2 degrees in Art History, and is the subject of the upcoming documentary, "Dancing the Inquisition Waltz". The Sarah Bain Gallery is located in the Carnegie Plaza, directly behind the Muzeo, at Anaheim Blvd and Broadway. Parking available on Center Street Promenade, or in the City parking structure, next to City Hall West.

All We Need Are the Giant Portraits On Every Street Corner

2009-09-25T13:24:00.001-07:00

I cannot even find the words to describe my horror at what I see in this video. The only thing missing from this indoctrination is uniforms and giant portraits of Father-President in the background.

Music, Music, and More Music

2009-09-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

Music a'plenty in Anaheim this weekend!

Saturday, September 19, the GardenWalk is hosting a MusicFest with 11 local bands, including Blues Bettie, Dig Jelly, the Armand Blaise Orchestra, and more. Music includes blues, salsa, jazz, modern, alternative, funk, big band, sounds like an eclectic mix at a venue that I alwasys find fun (until hubby sees the MasterCard bill from the Georgiou's Boutique located at the GardenWalk)
The MusicFest is 11 am to 10:30 pm, FREE to the public, anaheimgardenwalk.com

Also on Saturday, The Fab Four are playing at the Pearson Park amphitheatre, 8 pm to 10 pm. Richard and I loved this last year, but check to see if tickets are still available, as last year folks were out front begging to buy any seats! 714-765-5274 or anaheim.net/comm_svc/pearson

And next week, 80s rock icon Billy Squier is playing The Grove, Wednesday September 23rd. Tickets are $32.50 to $49.50. thegroveofanaheim.com

At Least Buy Us Dinner First

2009-09-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

Today's post is about leadership, present and future. For the current team leaders, kudos to the Anaheim City Council for voting against Item #19 on last night's consent calendar. The item as proposed would have created an Ordinance (that makes it permanent) allowing landowners to petition for CUPs to change land use for residential properties. Goodbye to that empty lot that the landlord cannot build on until the economy improves, and hello to a construction yard, landscape storage yard, or the use that drove the proposal, a vehicle impound lot! No kidding, this made it past the Planning Commission, and all the way to City Council. The community had a whopping 2 hours to rally in opposition, but folks rose to the occasion and made it to Council to ask for denial on the Item. The vote was 5-0 against. What I found most interesting was Bob Hernandez' statement that he understood Staff would never have brought this forward themselves (they know better) but that this was requested by one of the Councilmembers! Not one of them copped to being the instigator, and in the end they all voted against, understanding it was a losing proposition. Harry Sidhu was the only Council person who seemed interested in the item, and knowing he is running a losing campaign against Tom Daly for a County Supe spot, methinks Harry went fishing for developer dollars, using our own neighborhoods as bait. But that is only my opinion.

Now for leadership of the future. Tom Tait announced today his candidacy for Mayor in 2010. Tom had been appointed to City Council many moons ago, and then relayed that seat into re-election for another term. So it appears he will be back, running against Lucille Kring for Pringle's termed out spot. We have 2 Republicans running for one non-partisan seat (not that the parties have ever stayed out of the local races) so it looks to be an interesting race.

Leadership Hoax and the Real Deal All in the Same Week

2009-08-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

The Hoax:
Okay, so the link to Anaheim is a little iffy, but roll with me here. A young film-maker named Daniel-Califf-Glick contacted me with an invite for local history junkies to come see his new film, "The Triumph Of William Henry Harrison", playing Thursday, August 27th at the IndieFest here in Anaheim. His thought was that history nerds tend to love all history, not just local stuff, and I think he's right. Now keep in mind the film is a "mockumentary", based on "conspiracy theories" surrounding the death of Harrison. So the thing is gonna be really amusing, or really bad, there is rarely a middle ground here. But I love the enthusiasm of a young film-maker who pulls out all the stops and calls and emails around to gin up support for his project. So Richard and I are going, and invite others to join us. The theatre is at Downtown Disney (get your parking validated at the theatre, the Mouse values their parking spaces). 7 pm August 27.

For the Real Deal:
In other news that is actually connected to Anaheim, the Chamber of Commerce contract comes up for renewal and negotiation with City Council on Tuesday, August 25, at a meeting that starts at 5 pm sharp. The Chamber has a contract to host special events that promote Anaheim business, and the contract runs fiscal year to year. That makes advance planning difficult for long term goals, which is not an efficient use of resources. They are instead asking for a 3 year contract, which makes much more sense in a tight economy, if anything we do not have to pay for staff reports every year to review a contract that has been great for everyone involved. Todd Ament has brought new life to a Chamber that had been stuffy and innefficient at best, and I would follow them into battle any day under Todd's leadership. The Chamber has elevated events like Taste of Anaheim to new highs, and promoted all sorts of business networking and information programs that include all walks of Anaheim citizens. If you agree, and would like to show support, please attend the Council meeting in Council Chambers, City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd, at 5 pm. You need not speak if you are not comfortable, at some point someone will ask for a show of support, and you may simply stand to let Council know you support the Chamber's new contract.

Events at the GardenWalk

2009-08-14T10:38:00.001-07:00

The Anaheim GardenWalk is inviting the public to participate in the Unveiling Ceremony of "Anaheim in Motion: History Comes to Life" on Saturday, August 15, beginning at 6 pm. Anaheim Planning intern Janet Lee, working as an unpaid volunteer (God bless her) has worked miracles, coordinating 20 artists, who worked with hundreds of kids at YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, Cops 4 Kids, to create giant murals of Anaheim history and culture. The project, sponsored by the Anaheim Historical Society, Assistance League, and many other non-profits and for-profit businesses, will display the murals as public art for roughly a year, in space generously donated by the Anaheim GardenWalk, in the Anaheim Resort. The family friendly event will include magic shows for the kids, and the best view of the Disneyland fireworks outside of the park itself. The event is FREE and open to the public. GardenWalk is located on Katella, between Anaheim Blvd and Harbor, east of Disneyland.

In other GardenWalk news, Richard and I joined some Colony neighbors last weekend for Julie and Julia, and of course the ONLY civilized venue for a great movie experience is the GardenWalk theatre. The theatre is split into 2 sides, one for families, and a 21 and over space, where the snack stand features beer and wine, which may be imbibed in the theatre. Nice step up from popcorn and overpriced soda, eh? All seats in the theatre are luxury leather "media room" type recliners, and the absence of the under 21 set and their incessant text messaging makes the $11 ticket price a bargain to me and mine! As far as the movie, Julie and Julia was quite possibly the best warm-fuzzy-feel-good we have enjoyed in years! Richard and I both agreed we need to go back and see it again! I double dog dare you to see this movie without feeling fabulous about life afterward, and I especially dare you to see it and not want to cook later! Now if I can just get Richard to stop serving everything in clarified butter before my hips explode.....

For more info on the Shops at GardenWalk or the Theatres, see their website at www.gardenwalk.com

4th District Race Heats Up in Favor of Daly

2009-07-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well here is an interesting development. Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu is inviting folks out to his home for the 4th Annual India Independence Day celebration, and Kick Off for his run at the 4th District County Supe seat. Now, I have always found it to be poor form to have a campaign event in an area other than where one is running, but this one really takes the cake. To essentially announce to the world that Harry does not live in the 4th District, but hey, come on over and party anyway, is just plain tacky. Harry is not even pretending to carpetbag. He claims he will be obtaining a home in the District, and will retain his home (the Yorba estate is one of the largest private residence properties in Anaheim Hills) as his vacation home. Yeah right. Asked if his family would leave their very private, very gated estate to join him in the 4th District, Harry hemmed and hawed and dodged the question. Like Gin Sidhu is really going to move shopping carts out of the driveway to come home. Not buying it, and Harry, stop asking me for money. This is the 3rd office he has gone after in a year, and on the slim chance he is elected as County Supe, I have no doubt he will simply go after another office immediately afterward. Harry, Public Service means you serve us, not the other way around.

In other County Supe news, Lorri Galloway had recently (and arrogantly) told Red County Blogmeister Matt Cunningham that she would be the ONLY Dem in the race for 4th District. Asked about that OTHER Dem running for office, Tom Daly, her answer was, "If I were him, I wouldn't, and I'm going to do everything I can to get his endorsements." Poor Lorri, believing the press spin she has created. Sorry girlfriend, but Union support and public support are not the same thing. Did you really think that the adoring crowds who worship at your feet during Union protests in the Resort are Anaheim voters? Did Ada Briseno not bother telling you that they were bussed in from Los Angeles, most do not actually work for the Anaheim Resort, and none of them can vote for you? Sorry, guess I let the cat out of the bag. Seems as of this morning, Daly is pulling in some north county endorsements from Democrat politicos that are disinclined to acquiesce to Lorri's request. Means No. Oh and in case anyone is keeping score, Lorri is another Hills resident who does not live in the 4th District.

In the event Sidhu and/or Galloway actually rent apartments here, (They could share a lease, maybe. Not a hardship, since neither will ever see each other in the condo) and should they actually deign to sleep in those apartments, it does not give them the same insight to the day to day issues that residents of the 4th District face, challenges that are frequently unheard of in the Hills. The candidate who does best understand those issues is the man who grew up here in the flatlands. That would be Tom Daly.

Community Input for Transporation and Police

2009-07-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

Our Grand and Glorious Government is offering several opportunities for public input, because, well, they care about us and want to offer us the finest services available. Yeah.

First up are some transportation meetings.
"Monorail To TrafficLand"
Today, Wednesday, July 29, at the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 201, is a presentation on the Fixed Guideway Transit Corridor Study. Before you yawn at the title, think Monorail. The project, which is proposed as an above ground "Fixed Guideway" will transport passengers from the soon-to-be-built ARTIC center at the Stadium to the Platinum Triangle and Anaheim Resort District. Yes, buses are cheaper, but this is so much sexier. And if all those condos get built in the PT when the economy improves, trust me, we will want a way to get above those passenger vehicles sitting in their gridlock. God help us trying to get to a game. Today's events are either 3 to 5 pm, or 6 to 8 pm. anaheimfixedguideway.com

"Uber-Rail Station"
Tomorrow, you can bring your monorail-induced enthusiasm for mass transit to a presentation on ARTIC, the Anaheim Regional Intermodal Transportation Center. This will be Anaheim's answer to Grand Central Station, located at the Anaheim Stadium, where one may now catch the Metrolink or Greyhound. The Register reports that the City has spent $24 million dollars for the design work, so it might be nice for folks to show up and see where the money went. Frankly, for twenty four million bucks the darned thing better produce flying monkeys for entertainment. See it for yourself at the OCTA Headquarters, 600 S. Main Street in Orange, from 5 to 7 pm Thursday. octa.net/artic
On a bitter note, it is interesting to see them spending so much for a new glorified train station. This from the government that relocated our historic train station, converting it to a YMCA PreSchool, which has now been listed as a "taking" for the new High Speed Rail project.

"Partner With the Police"
And the other opportunity for public input is a meeting this evening with the Anaheim Police Department at the Downtown Community Center. The meeting is from 7 to 8:30, and is intended to "better address issues brought forward by members of the Colony community". IE: we hear you whining to the Mayor during breakfast at Mimi's. It would be great to see a good turnout tonight. We have been successful in "taking back" the area, but the mentality has become one of complacency, and that relaxed attitude appears to be allowing some of that undesirable element to creep back in. Now before Gustavo gets his Calvins in a twist, by undesirable I mean drug dealing dirtballs and taggers of ANY background. My biggest problem right now is actually a group of skanky white trash scavengers who steal out trash, load it into stolen shopping carts, and then discard of what they do not want by dumping it elsewhere, thereby ensuring that the entire world knows my 20 year old daughter is on the Victoria's Secret mailing list. No, you may not have her phone number. I also have a private theory that the scavengers seem to find the loudest carts to steal, but I have yet to scientifically test that hypothesis. Clatter-clatter-clatter. So come on out to the DTCC on Center Street tonight and let's see what we can do to work with the APD to push back, because it is easier to maintain a better quality of life than to have to take it back entirely. By the way, the contact person for Central Anaheim is Sergaent Alex Orozco, 714-765-3878.

Historian J.J. Friis Lost to a Stroke

2009-07-28T08:25:00.001-07:00

James Jesson Friis, son of Anaheim history author and legal-eagle Leo Friis, has passed away after a stroke. J.J. Friis was a long time member of the Orange County Historical Commission, involved in the Native Sons of the Golden West, and ran the Pioneer Press started by his father, to publish Anaheim history books. JJ. had grown up on Clementine Street in what became the Colony District, and was something of a legend. His "larger than life" personna will be missed by all, especially his widow, Harriet. Funeral arrangements are not yet announced.

Bring In the Dollars!

2009-07-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Lots going on in Anaheim in the near future.

Disney's California Adventure continues its $4billion overhaul, with the Orange Stinger being converted to the "Silly Symphony Swings", playing off the classic Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Band Concert", in keeping with the renovation taking DCA back to Disney's roots as he stepped off the train into early 20th Century Los Angeles. California Screamin is getting rock work, World of Color is slated for March 2010, and the Blue Sky Cellar has reopened. Hand in hand with the DCA overhaul is the addition of the Vacation Club timeshares, fueling the expansion of the amazing Arts and Crafts style Grand Californian Hotel, which I was thrilled to discover will feature pieces from our friends at Old California Lantern Company in Orange. Yep, the Mouse supports income all over the region, and we are all grateful to have our "company town".

Also drawing crowds to Anaheim, NBA stars Richard Jefferson and Luke Walton are hosting a basketball camp for kids, at the Anaheim Sports Centers. The camp is open to boys and girls, ages 7 to 17, and more information can be found at www.lwjrbballcamp.com. Cost is $300, but hey, "it's for the kids".

And April 2010 will see Wizard Entertainment bring Comic-Con to Anaheim, filling our Convention Center and surrounding hotels and restaurants with an expected 30,000 sunlight deprived 20 year olds. Sorry, did I say that out loud? I mean TOT paying visitors. (I have spawned an entire family of gamers, and they do not see the light of day unless I kick them out, you know I'm right!) These gatherings are just Reason #428 for expanding the Anaheim Convention Center, if we don't do it, San Diego will pick up these conferences. Yes, the City is hurting for dollars, but we are riding this downturn better than most, and that is without a doubt due to the visitors that create 50% of our General Fund revenue. Think about it, we could be Stanton.

Potluck Goes Downtown

2009-07-23T17:24:00.001-07:00

The Colony monthly potluck gets a little shift this month. Rather than poking through the closets and bathroom cabinets of a neighbor this time (you know they all do it!) we will meet at the Carnegie Counrtyard at the Muzeo. Friday July 24, 7 to 9 pm Carnegie Outdoor Plaza, 201 S. Anaheim Blvd (behind the Carnegie Library/Anaheim Museum Building) Parking on Center Street Promenade, on street or in the parking garage. Bring a dish to share, and your favorite beverage. But we aren't worried about having enough food, since local restaurants Flame Broiler, Bella Marri's, 195 Downtown Grill, Cafe Amore, and Tandoori Garden will be hosting a mini-Taste of Anaheim during the event! All are welcome, come see our downtown.

Todd Ament Helps Anaheim Kids by Totalling Cars!

2009-07-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

Anaheim Chamber head (and newly minted Planning Commisioner) Todd Ament will compete in the Demolition Derby on Saturday July 25th, at the OC Fair! Now THERE is a mental image I have had fun playing with! They are looking for sponsors for this worthy event, as it benefits the Boys and Girls Club Motel Kids Outreach. Sponsorship Levels are $100 for "smash Em Up" level, or $250 for "Demolish" level. Sponsorship includes a decal on the car, but you have to get your artwork in by Thursday the 23 at noon. Contact Danielle Hill at 714-758-0222 ext. 214 or danielle@anaheimchamber.com for information.

The Motel Kids Outreach Program provides services and support for children who are one step away from homelessness, living in local motels. I can't think of a better use for $100, and seeing Todd in a flame-retardant driver suit would be worth more than that!

Disney News

2009-07-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

While I do not have photos of it, the folks over at the Disney Blog have a fabulous post on Marty Sklar getting his "window" at Disneyland, during the birthday celebration on Friday. Check it out at thedisneyblog.com.

I never knew this, but thanks to the newest video on Disneyland, you can get a guide to the Main Street honorary windows by asking at City Hall. The latest video was 4 years in the making, although you'd never know it, the young hostess (and daughter of photographer and producer) does not seem to age. (We should all be so lucky!) Richard and I enjoyed the advance copy we watched, and we learned things about the park that DH and I had not known, and some of my Disney-fan buds had not been aware of. Get your copy of The Secret Tour of Disneyland online. Google it, I cannot get the link to work here.

In other Disney News, Ada Briseno and her gang at Unite Here 11 staged yet another ridiculous public protest over at the Resort. Sadly, the vast majority of the protestors were not actually Disney Cast Members, but were union members bussed in from Los Angeles. Of course they were also joined by Councilwoman Lorri Galloway, an elected official who had no business being there, and a bunch of Episcopal Priests who happened to be in town. Say what?

What's at stake? Essentially Disney wants all their cast members in the same benefits package, which actually increases coverage for things like sick-pay that cast members of Unite Here do not currently get. So why are Ada and company whining? Because they like the status quo of Disney paying THEM to offer coverage for cast members. Looks like the Union is not looking out for their members so much as looking out for themselves.

Now this is still America, and folks have the right to take to the streets to protest anything they want. But as a taxpayer I am interested in who covers the Police hours needed to maintain order at these demonstration Ada keeps staging for the press. Someone needs to remind Galloway that in challenging times that money could be used to keep cops on the streets, instead of keeping cops busy protecting her Union pals from traffic after they choose to step into the street. Tired of the whole thing, Ada and Unite Here need to let their people vote once and for all. Oh did I forget to mention that? Yeah, the last Disney offer was rejected by the Union without even presenting it to members for a vote. Great representation, Ada.

I am not privy to the nuts and bolts of the deal, and I do not work for Disney. I am just tired of seeing the Union clog the streets and disrupt the vacations of folks who come to Anaheim and cover 50% of the City services I enjoy here. Ada, quit whining, and let your people vote so we can all get back to treating our guests to the Happiest Tax Generator on Earth.

Jazz Tonight in Downtown Anaheim

2009-07-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

Judy Chamberlain wil be performing tonight, July 15 at 7 pm, Cafe Amore at Harbor and Center, downtown Anaheim. The event is free, although I dare you to resist the food at Cafe Amore!

Anaheim in Motion, an art project fro kids and local artists is taking off like a rocket! The brainstorm of PLanning Intern Janet Lee, the project teams local artists with kids from YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, and Cops4Kids. Working from Gail Eastman's children's book, the teams are depicting Anaheim history and Culture in massive canvas painting projects, which will be displayed at the Anaheim GardenWalk. Contact me if you would like to volunteer or donate for this fabulous cause. With art projects eliminated due to budget cuts, this may be the ONLY opportunity for kids to participate in a hands on art project this year!

Anaheim Colony Cares Blood Drive

2009-07-07T09:06:00.000-07:00

Once again, Meghan Shigo is hosting the Anaheim Colony Cares Blood Drive, to benefit the Red Cross. The event is Tuesday, July 21st from 2 pm to 8 pm. The BloodMobile will be parked at the incredible Shigo home, 510 N. Clementine, just north of Pearson Park. Click this link to make your appointment, your donation can save a life! https://www.givelife.org/index.cfm?group=op&expand=622824&zc=92805

or contact Meghan directly at 714-273-1381.

Historian Declared Historic

2009-06-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

With the possible exception of Jim Sleeper, nobody knows Orange County history like Phil Brigandi. So when Phil turned 50 on Sunday, a few of us "history nerds" figured a celebration was in order. According to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, a building, structure or object must be at least 50 years old in order to be recognized, and "plaqued". Phil having now met the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, we are seen here "Plaquing" him as historically significant, during lunch at the Blue Bayou, inside Pirates of the Caribean, during a group visit to the "Happiest Place on Earth". (He was not amused). The Disney trip was particularly appropriate, as Phil's father was a cast member at the time of his birth. Phil's brth certificate actually lists his Dad's occupation as "ride operator" and industry as "Disneyland". How many people have Disneyland on their birth certificates?!

Chris Jepsen, with aid from many, created some fabulous folded booklets on the life and times of Phil Brigandi, entitled, "The Phirst Phifty Years: A Phun Philled Phamplet Phor Phriends of Phil Brigandi". Phil was serving on historic Boards by the age of 18, and at age 50 he has published some 20 books. Jim Sleeper offered a list of the next 12:
"The First 50 Are the Toughest"
"Slow Times at Orange High"
"I Never Danced All Night"
"Baden Powell Made a Man Out of Me"
"Lone Wolf Howling"
"College Days:Dusting Off History"
"What Else Rhymes With Orange?"
"I Left My Heart In Borrego Valley"
"No Brown Soda Pop"
"She's Out There, Somewhere"
"Barkus Is Willing"
"Te Amo!!!"

For those Phil Phans unable to attend the celebration, you may wish him a Happy Belated Birthday on July 11, as Phil will be the guest speaker at the Anaheim Historical Society Annual Banquet. RSVP to me at Cynthia_Ward@sbcglobal.net or 714-292-0042 for details.

Green Event This Weekend

2009-06-16T16:27:00.001-07:00

Coming to Maxwell PArk this weekend, FREE and open to the public! Also on Saturday, an artist's workshop will review Anaheim History lessons in preparation for a children's mural project to be displayed at the GardenWalk Center. If you are interested in participating, or know an artist who would be interested in working with kids to depict scenes of historic Anaheim, contact
Janet Lee
Program Coordinator
GardenWalk Mural Project
714.336.3410
janetfull@gmail.com

Well This Sucks

2009-05-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

The Governor announced this week to eliminate General Fund support for state parks. There is a budget hearing on the proposal next Tuesday, June 2. If you do not agree with this move, your legislators need to hear from you. Our friends at the State Parks Foundation have set up this online action alert: http://www.calparks .org/stopclosure s Please send a message to your legislators. There is a great fact sheet listed at the bottom of this email about what the budget cut means to us and our State Park system.

2009 STATE PARK BUDGET CUTS & CLOSURES FACT SHEET AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS On May 21, the Governor's office announced a proposal to "eliminate the General Fund support for state parks." On May 26, representatives of the Department of Finance indicated that, specifically, the proposal is to take $70 million of the Department of Parks and Recreation's (DPR) General Fund allocation in the 2009-10 Fiscal Year (which starts July 1, 2009) and the remainder of their General Fund – another $73 million – in the next budget year, FY 2010-11, for a total removal of $143 million. Those representatives also indicated that the cuts will result in closures of as much as 80 percent of the state park system, approximately 223 state parks. • The state park system receives an annual General Fund allocation of approximately $145 million, less than 1/10 of one percent of the entire state budget and less than .62 percent of the estimated $24.3 billion budget deficit. • Last year's proposal to close 48 state parks and reduce lifeguards from 16 popular state beaches was soundly rejected by tens of thousands of Californians across the state. The present proposal, to gain $143 million in "savings" is 10 times larger than last year's proposal to save $13 million. • State parks have an economic multiplier effect in many communities that are already struggling in the current recession. For every $1 spent supporting the state park system, $2.35 is returned to the state's General Fund through purchases in local economies and in the state parks themselves by park visitors. Given that "economic multiplier effect, the proposal could cost the state as much as $352.5 million in potential revenue ($150M x $2.35 = $352.5M). • In 2008, almost 80 million visits were made to state parks by Californians and tourists to enjoy the natural, cultural and historic values in our state parks. • The Governor's proposal will severely impact Californians, particularly in these tough economic times. State parks are more popular than ever with the public and have experienced a record number of camping reservations this summer. This year, more than 25,000 nights have been reserved for camping reservations, compared to 20,700 in 2008 and 19,7000 in 2007. Q &A Q: Does this recent proposal mean that state parks will be closing? Representatives of the Governor's office have said that in order to gain the General Fund savings, as much as 80 percent of the state park system may be closed, which is approximately 223 state parks. It is important to remember, however, that this cut to state parks funding is a proposal from the Governor. Any budget changes must be approved by the Legislature, and we don't yet know if the Legislature will agree with this proposal. Q: Which parks are closing under the Governor's proposal? At this time, we do not have a list of specific parks that will be closed. A list may be made available after May 28. Q: How quickly will state parks be closed? Neither the Governor's office nor the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) have announced the timing of any closures, if the Legislature adopts them. It has been widely discussed that the Legislature and Governor need to agree on a new budget by the beginning of July. Media reports have indicated that the DPR does not plan to close any state parks until after Labor Day. But it's nearly impossible to pinpoint the date when a new state budget will be in place and whenand if any state park closures are part of the budget. Q: Will day use passes/annual pass still be valid? Right now, the passes will still be honored at state parks for day use and Californians should continue to visit and enjoy our state parks. If park closures do begin, it's likely that the passes will no longer be valid for most state parks. Q: How can Californians help save our state parks? You can visit www.calparks. org/stopclosures to send a message to your legislators and the Governor. Advocates can also go directly to the SOS campaign web site at www.savestateparks. org to get the latest information and officially register opposition to this proposal. Once you've signed up, you'll receive information about calling, faxing and writing your elected officials and the Governor to make your voice heard on this proposal.

Pringle for Governor?

2009-05-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

OK, Lexie would kill him, but I would campaign to send Curt to Sacto and clean up this mess.

A very enlightening interview with Mayor Curt Pringle on Fox News.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIhiH0biEhQ

The Mouse Eats Well

2009-04-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Shamelessly lifted from an e-newsletter I get, because as a family of foodies I love that the Mouse offers food beyond corn dogs and cotton candy.

Disneyland® Resort Restaurants Win 15 Southern California Restaurant Writers Awards

Disneyland® Resort restaurants won 15 awards at the 2008-2009 Southern California Restaurant Writers Awards Banquet last month at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. A highlight for Resort restaurants was the recognition of Alex Flores and Francisco Origel, sous chefs at the perennially popular Napa Rose in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel® & Spa, as co-winners of the “Sous Chef of the Year.”
Napa Rose and Steakhouse 55 won the highest honors, the Golden Bacchus Wine Award and a Golden Sceptre (Five Star) award in the continental and American categories, respectively. Napa Rose showcases California wine country cuisine with menu options that change seasonally and at Steakhouse 55 guests experience classic and delectable American fare, while enjoying the feel of vintage Hollywood through the restaurant’s retro décor.
The Southern California Restaurant Writers, Inc. has operated for 35 years as a nonprofit seeking to improve the quality of restaurants in the region. Award winners are chosen from Santa Barbara south to the Mexican border. Awards are published for the general knowledge of diners living in or visiting the area.
The 15 awards were distributed among 12 restaurants – seven in Disneyland® Resort hotels, two in Disneyland® Park, two in the Downtown Disney® District and one in Disney’s California Adventure® Park.

Sick and Twisted Goes on Sale

2009-04-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.ieweekly.com/cms/story/detail/ryan_chorbagian_exhibit/2235/

Anaheim Colony's own Ryan Chorbagian has long been a favorite character of mine, a creative soul who can turn on the charm instantly, usually to get out of a jam caused by his creativity. I would love Ryan even if he wasn't the product of the world's coolest parents. But now the chronically underemployed man-ling has found a way to get that creativity to pay off. Ryan has turned his passion for scavenging really cool old stuff into what appears to be highly marketable art. We knew he had it in him, glad to see he has found his voice in the art world. Ry has always had an amazing eye for balance and texture, etc. so I expect to be pulling out my checkbook for some of his pieces at the show, currently running here:
Fill Box at Bunny Gunner, 266 W. Second St., Pomona, (909) 868-2808; www.bunnygunner.com. Open Tues.–Sat., 10AM–7PM. Thru May 2. Free

In other Chorbagian news, Ryan is hosting what Mom PJ has called one "Big-Assed Garage Sale". I'll let her explain it:
THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY COLONY ARTIST, RYAN CHORBAGIAN IS ACTUALLY GETTING RID OF SOME CRAP. I HAVE GONE THROUGH IT AND ALREADY HAVE MORE THAN I EVER WANTED. ALL SALES ARE FINAL AND WILL HELP WITH HIS RELOCATION TO CHICAGO IN AUGUST. HE IS ACCEPTING VISITORS AT 421 N. PINE STREET FROM 7AM-4PM. SOME THINGS I HAVE SEEN ARE TONS OF CLOTHES, OLD CASEMENT WINDOWS, DISNEY STUFF (SOME UNOPENED), RANDOM TOYS, YARD TOOLS, (VINTAGE HAND TOOLS,) VINTAGE LADIES COATS, MID-CENTURY END TABLES, YADA YADA.COME ON BY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Ryan, we will miss you and your very special way of seeing Anaheim. Good luck in Chicago. Try not to break anything.

Saying Goodbye When We Just Said Hello

2009-04-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

This location is Fullerton, but the story is all Anaheim. The corner of Lemon and Orangethorpe has become the site of a memorial to the 3 young people killed by what appears to be a drunk driver. Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was celebrating his new career in Major League Baseball, after flying his parents in to see him pitch 6 scoreless innings in his Season debut. Nick's girlfriend, Courtney Stewart, was driving, and friends Henry Pearson and John Wilhite were passengers. At the corner of Lemon and Orangethorpe, Andrew Gallo, a 22 year old driving on a suspended license for prior drunk driving convictions, hit the car the young people were in, while apparently drunk yet again. 3 of those people are dead, and Wilhite, a ball player at CSUF, has just been taken off the critical list, so hopefully he will make it. 3 young lives taken by the stupidity of one person. This is one of those "screaming at the sky asking God what he is doing" moments. The Angels postponed the game scheduled for the evening the group died, and held a moment of silence during the next game. Note to the press: Could you maybe just call them "the Angels"? I know Arte won the right to call them the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but frankly it is just beyond stupid.

Hobby City at WAND

2009-04-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

2 items, entirely unrelated.

The West Anaheim Neighborhood Development Committee (WAND) will hold a meeting at 6:30 pm this Wednesday, to discuss Police and Code Enforcement activity. Special guests are Allan and Yvonne Ansdell, owners of Hobby City, with an update on how they hope to bring back the tourist attraction! The meeting is at the West Anaheim Youth Center, 320 S. Beach Blvd.

Not an Anaheim item, but related to historic preservation, so it caught my attention. The folks in Hawaii hope to put Barack Obama's grandmother's high-rise rental apartment on the National Register, as the birthplace/childhood home of the President. Interesting spin: the National Register folks might actually demand proof that Barack Obama was in fact born in Hawaii, in order to complete that listing. Just saying is all......

Water and Plants and History, Oh My!

2009-03-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

The Anaheim Historical Society is pleased to present our guest speaker for March, Jeff Smith of Natural by Design Landscape. Jeff is an expert on water and energy use for gardens, as well as a fellow history nerd, who lives in the Historic Palm District, just north of The Colony. Jeff will be sharing a presentation on how California's landscape developed over time, with emphasis on the availability of water in the choice of those plantings. This is especially significant today, with our drought conditions. We can learn from the past to plant for the future. There HAS to be a better answer than fake grass or xeriscape. Jeff has those answers for us!

The meeting is FREE and the public is always welcome.
Tuesday, March 31
7 pm
Ebell Clubhouse Helena and Cypress, across from the tennis courts at Pearson Park

GardenWalk Party Thursday night

2009-03-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

I have a special invitation for anyone reading this:

On Thursday, March 19, at the Anaheim Resort GardenWalk, SOAR is hosting a getting-to-know-you event from 5:30 pm to 8 pm. We are offering FREE food and beverage, provided by GardenWalk restaurants. We also have FREE entry to the GardenWalk movie theatre! What’s in it for us? We want the chance to tell you how important it is to support the Anaheim Resort, as Anaheim’s primary source of tax revenue. And if you agree that saving Anaheim’s critical services, like Fire, Police, Parks, Libraries, is important, then we would like the chance to sign you up for a FREE Soar membership. No fees, no funny hats, and your information will never be sold. We just want to be able to contact you in the future, with invitations to more exciting events in the Resort. Such a deal! We also want to be sure that you know about the GardenWalk, and see for yourself that locals are very, very welcome there!

For many years, we have lamented the lack of quality entertainment, retail shops, and restaurants in the flatlands of our beloved Anaheim. When we begged merchants for upscale offerings, the standard answer has been, "Anaheim's demographics do not support this type of development." And we took our bent little noses off to other cities for our shopping, and dreamt of a day when a simple Ann Taylor sweater might be had in Anaheim, and not just the leftovers being cleared out at the Anaheim Plaza Clearance Center, but in a real store, with real sales staff. (and real dressing rooms)

Not long ago, a visionary man brought these things to us, right here in the Anaheim Resort. Bill Stone stuck his neck (and a large fortune) out to build GardenWalk, offering Anaheim residents all of those merchants we begged for. And yet, Anaheim's response has been, well, lackluster at best.

So what is holding us back from enjoying all that the GardenWalk has to offer? I think it is largely perception, and I know I had my own preconceived notions of what GardenWalk is and isn’t. I had anticipated a tourist trap, where one might find the usual t-shirts and postcards, upcharged to grab dollars from visitors as a captive audience. But I have delighted in the stores, such as Ann Taylor, Giorgios Studio, White House/Black Market, etc. that would be found in any quality shopping mall. I have found genuine values there, as I recently updated my tired wardrobe, with pieces I could not have found elsewhere in Anaheim, at very competitive prices.

My fear is that misperception will keep us from patronizing the center that Bill Stone so bravely built, trusting that Anaheim could support such a quality environment. And if GardenWalk does not hold its own through this economic challenge, merchants will never give us this chance again, and we as a community will be condemned to a lifetime of Chuck E Cheese's, and TJ Maxx. My challenge is to each and every resident of Anaheim who has ever longed for a "real" shopping center right here in town. Come on out and give GardenWalk a try.

So please pass this along, and bring your friends and family to see us on Thursday evening. You do not need to live in Anahiem, just care about Anaheim! Our hosts are prepared to entertain hundreds of people, there is no such thing as too many guests for this event! I would love to see this party packed that evening. We need to send a message that the people of Anaheim want to thank Bill Stone and these quality retailers for taking a chance on Anaheim. Any of us who have tried to get Trader Joe's here know how hard it is to talk merchants into investing in Anaheim. Let's tell these folks that their investment has been well placed, that Anaheim CAN and WILL support quality merchants. It is time for us to step up and tell the world that Anaheim’s demographics DO support something more than a discount center. I hope to see you all there on March 19.

Why the Economy Sucks or The Death of Customer Service in America

2009-03-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has visited us (and you are few because I never let anyone in) know that the house has been unfinished for far too long. Richard and I are finally tackling those projects, trying to finally get the place done, so we can invite y'all over. Yep, all of you. Of course it will likely be some sort of a fundraiser, but I digress. We were even pretty excited about the idea of being able to spend a few dollars in a bad economy, and committed ourselves to buying locally whenever possible. Now for the irony. Our biggest obstacles are no longer time and money (although they are factors) no, our biggest obstacle is the merchants themselves! We consistently find ourselves leaving empty handed, wanting to scream "Why are you making it so difficult for me to give you my money?!" Last weekend it was a well known vintage hardware shop in Orange. They carried what I wanted, at a price I was willing to pay. But by the time the saleswoman/owner (the one with the bad wig who never figured out college is over, you know the one) by the time she was done telling me all the reasons I did not want this (very expensive, hard to install, yada, yada) I left the store empty handed. She talked herself right out of a sale. Instead, I ordered-get this-brand new hardware that exactly matched the stuff she did not want to sell me, from a repro place in another state. Say what?

So today we went to talk to a few cabinet people. Again, trying to spend in Anaheim, and balance the "sorry kids you can't go to college we just gave all our money to the carpenter for custom cabinets" with the "made from plastic and lead paint in China" of stock warehouse garbage, we went to a local "we build it ourselves" shop. And we were laughed at. Now I do not mind someone telling me that they cannot help me. Go ahead and tell me that your unskilled workers out back cannot make those flush mounted shaker doors fit the cabinet frame. I'm pretty used to it. But don't mock me for the request. Don't tell me "nobody does that" (yes they do) or that I will hate them (I do not hate the ones I already live with, or I would not want to add an island of them, thanks) or that I cannot get cabinets made from anything from MDF (it makes me itch almost as bad as vinyl) because I was not born yesterday, and I know you are full of it.

If you can't help me now, at least be nice about it. You never know what I may need in the future! I understand that old house stuff is a fairly specialized request. I am willing to pay a bit more for it (but don't hose me on the price, it's not THAT much harder) I am willing to wait a little longer. I am even willing to paint it myself, install my own hardware, etc. But do not make me feel foolish for asking if you might provide a service or product I may wish to purchase. And after that, do not dare whine about how you have to lay off employees because nobody out there is spending money. So to Henry at the "we don't really do custom cabinets" shop, all I have to say is, be thankful you aren't the HVAC guy. He made the mistake of insisting that he could not explain how to service our AC filter, because I am a woman. (Are my breasts going to impede the ability to reach the filter?) Unlike HVAC guy, Henry merely lost a sale, not a body part. But it is still sad that an Anaheim business left an Anaheim resident with such a bad taste for their shop. And when I go to reno the tract house kitchen Richard's Mom left us for a rental, (which does NOT need special order work) I know where not to go.

The solution? The kitchen saleswoman at Lowe's (Rosanna, great gal) sat down and listened to what I wanted, took the time to help me layout the new cabinets, using stock sizes, and then checked her manufacturers to find one willing to sell me just the hardwood boxes, unpainted, no doors or drawers, but all the bells and whistles and gadgets inside. We will have a local carpenter make the doors and drawer fronts, and paint them ourselves, installing our own hardware. Problem solved. Lowe's makes a sale, a local carpenter gets some work, Richard gets the kitchen he wants at a price I want to pay. Everybody happy. Why merchants cannot seem to think outside the box to make a sale is beyond me, but I am grateful to people like Rosanna, who "get it", and she will also get the not-custom-kitchen cabinets I need in the future. Our daughter's theory on Mom's living room rant; "Mom, all the smart people left California already, so all you have left to deal with are idiots. It's systemic."

Tourists and TOT

2009-03-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

Why the Disney Resort is....well, the Disney Resort.....

I was over at the Disneyland Hotel for breakfast with friends (Gustavo would find my choices pedestrian, but I starved for 2 weeks to get away with the 2 by 4 breakfast at Steakhouse 55).

As I was leaving, I noticed the usual gaggle of tourist girls taking each others' photos in front of our favorite mouse. While you can see the barriers indicating that work is being done in the area, what you cannot see is the Resort "Cast Member" maintenance guy, who is crouching down behind the base block, so as not to intrude on the "guest experience". After literally crawling on his hands and knees to get himself out of the shot, he then stopped his work, and offered to take their photos together. He later went back to work, grabbing a wrench from his toolkit, whistling quietly. Sorry, folks, but NOBODY else does it as well. Which is why, despite the downturn in the economy, while the crowds are not as robust as they may have been in years past, folks are still using whatever extra money they have to visit us in Anaheim. And while TOT revenue is off from previous years, thank God we have what we do, because without it we would be in BIG trouble!

Speaking of TOT tax, I am looking into the whole stink about online booking agencies and their payments of TOT to the City of Anaheim. While we have a full Council majority backing the move to collect the extra TOT from the agencies, I am not so sure I am in agreement. (Cynthia is going to disagree with Mayor Curt?! gasp!) Yeah, I just might.

Here's the spin:

Council claims that agencies that book discount tickets (Expedia, Orbitz, etc) buy blocks of rooms wholesale, and then resell them at a profit, while withholding the TOT collected at the higher price. Confused? Here's a hypothetical example: Agency A buys a block of rooms from a hotel at $100 per room, sells to Family B at $200 per room, collects TOT on the $200 from Family B, but only gives the City the TOT on the $100 Agency A paid. Now, if that is in fact the scenario, then yes, Agency A needs to forward all TOT collected back to the City. That is only fair.

However, I have also heard that the agencies are not in fact collecting and not forwarding. The alternate scenario is that they are only collecting TOT from Family B based on the lower price that Agency A bought the room for. If the battle is raging over forcing agencies to collect more taxes from the consumer, I am not sure that is the way to go. Charging tourists even more money in this economy may not be the smart move, and frankly the agencies are lit about it. In fact, in other markets where City governments have forced the TOT issue, agencies have simply rerouted guests to neighboring cities! (can you say Garden Grove?) How much TOT does Anaheim collect on a Garden Grove hotel room? That would be none.

There is no easy answer here, and I still do not have all of the answers. But I am looking into it, and will report back here when i get those numbers. Any ideas from the peanut gallery?

Friday afternoon musings

2009-02-20T14:07:00.001-08:00

We hear about the death of reading, and how the internet will kill off paper publication someday. But I am not buying it. There is simply no replacement for the joy I get at opening the mailbox, and finding an old house magazine, instead of the expected bills (or perhaps to soften the blow of the bills that got shoved INTO the magazine by the carrier). Such was my reaction today. While I am supposed to be working, this newly minted issue of Victorian Homes arrived, tempting me in its glossy glory to brew a pot of Berry Berry Tea (imported regularly to the Ward abode from Victoria BC’s Empress Tea Shop) curl up with my kitten, and start the weekend early. Alas, such a luxury is not to be had today, but I will stop to share the editor’s thoughts from inside the world of gingerbread I would prefer to cyberspace.

Here for your reading pleasure, are Victorian Homes editor Merrie Destafano’s Top 10 reasons for loving an old house.

1. Windows that stretch-catlike-floor to ceiling, that capture sunlight and pull it through the prism of rippled century-old glass.

2. Glowing hardwood floors that require you to walk barefoot, that tell ghost stories when they creak in the middle of the night.

3. Sky-high and majestic ceilings, decorated with a wallpaper mosaic, that transforms a home into a cathedral.

4. Woodwork that dresses a room like a woman attending a ball, with the diamond-bright jewelry of crown molding, deep windowsills, and bull’s eye trim.

5. Finely crafted fireplaces brought to life when winter winds blow, that crackle with blazing embers and remind us of our primal need to tame the wild beast called Fire.

6. A foyer that hints of marvelous things to come, like the prelude to a Bach fugue; that causes excitement to pulse through your veins as you anticipate what will come next.

7. A parlor that resurrects the lost art of entertaining, that hearkens us back to an age when we drew pleasure from the confidence of a true friend come to call.

8. A stairway with curved banister and landing that leads upwards to down-filled comforters and four-poster beds, to a mythic land of rest for the weary traveler.

9. A wraparound porch, the bridge between home and the outside world, where the family can visit with friends and neighbors without taking a journey.

10. An entire street lined with historic homes-a well-tended, renovated historic district-that creates portal to the past, that triggers memories and reminds us of a Paradise almost lost in the quest for everything shiny and new.
www.victorianhomesmag.com

Happy Birthday Dear Jordan......

2009-02-19T14:21:00.001-08:00

Reading like a Who's Who of Orange County politics, this invite looks more like a fundraiser for Governor, not a local school board. But that is exactly the kind of across the board support Jordan Brandman has earned in trying to turn around a troubled high school system. Having a kid at Loara, and being on the PTSA Board there, I have seen firsthand the changes Jordan has already pulled off, and he can have the last scrapings of my bank account any day.

The party is at the always fabulous home of Mitch and Sherry Caldwell, the historic Fiscus House, designed by noted architect Frederick Eley, on Wednesday, March 11, from 6 pm to 7:29. (I think that means Sherry throws us out at 7:30). RSVP to raylysa@aol.com or 714-540-2295. Or print the invite here and mail it in.

Carpetbaggers Take Over Anaheim Politics

2009-02-16T07:00:00.001-08:00

For some time now Matt Cunningham has been posting to his Red County blog about rumors of Harry Sidhu running for the 4th District seat when Norby leaves in 2010. Many of us have long believed that race is Tom Daly's to lose, so Harry "I will run for anything" Sidhu would be clearly out of his mind to try for it. http://www.redcounty.com/orange-county/2009/02/4th-supe-district-watch-harry/

Matt now reports that he cornered Harry at the Muzeo event last week and Harry admitted that yes, he is running. Um.....why did we just re-elect this man to a City Council seat he clearly does not care about?

Worse, there are also rumors of Lorri Galloway considering the seat. While I would love to see Lorri take her Eva Peron act elsewhere, the District seat that currently controls serious grant money for her own shelter is not where I want her, thanks anyway. Lorri's reported interest in the Supe's seat explains why she has been working so hard (aided by newly minted compadre Lucille Kring) to expand her feifdom. Veddy interestink...

I have not seen a formal announcement from either party, and we need to keep in mind that neither Galloway nor Sidhu actually live in the District they wish to represent. Both would have to relocate to the flatlands....and how likely is it that they will leave the hills for a home where they have to actually live with the consequences of their failed Council policies? What are the odds that they are willing to move shopping carts out of their driveways to go to work in the morning? Only time will tell. In any event, Tom Daly will mop the floor with either of them, it is a moot point, but I would prefer it if they had to leave their Council seats to run....

New Urbanism comes to Anaheim

2009-02-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

On March 13, Mayor Curt Pringle and the BIA are hosting a conference on Land Use and Planning, titled, "Restoring Community" http://www.restoringcommunityconference.com/

I have been a New Urbanism junkie for years, so I will be in attendance, already having promised Richard I will not have Andres Duany sign a body part, but it will take all of my control to do so. If ever Anaheim needed CNU, it is NOW! Land use, planning, zoning, it all goes hand in hand to create cohesive neighborhoods, districts, and communities, something our City Council, and often City staff, just do not get. While "freedom friendly" has its place, this planning-parcel-by-parcel-depending-on-who-gave-the-last-campaign-donation is going to destroy Anaheim. Thank you Mayor Pringle for bringing this to Anaheim, now can we tie up the rest of the City Council and force them to listen to Randy Jackson? Will Galloway even attend? It will be a different experience for her to enter the Resort without a bullhorn and an army of union rabble to rile up, but here's hoping she attends, and maybe even learns a thing or two about what makes a comunity great. Hint: It's not subsidies.

For more info on this subject, check out http://www.cnu.org/ or check some of the following books at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Suburban-Nation-Sprawl-Decline-American/dp/0865476063/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234477684&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/New-Urbanism-Toward-Architecture-Community/dp/0070338892/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Gustavo Meets the Old Guard

2009-01-14T16:54:00.000-08:00

Today's thought is from "An Incomplete Education" by Judy Jones and William Wilson.

"Gosh, so much has happened over the years. Wars and revolutions, edicts and referendums, dynasties and one-night stands, rebuffs and embraces. You'd think we'd have learned something from the whole business by now; after all, as the turn-of-the-century Harvard philosopher George Santayana admonished, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But how do you decide whose version of things you are going to buy? Well, you should begin by realizing that there's history, (or more formally, historiography) which is the writing down of everything that ever happened, and then there's the philosophy of history, which attempts to say what, exactly, that act of writing down accomplishes, and/or where eventually, the historical process itself leads; and that most "historians" do one or the other, although some wind up doing both. Beyond that, don't look at us: We've just examined everybody's celebrated account of one or more of the world's great moments and it seems perfectly obvious that everybody's lying."

On that note, the Euro-centric Anaheim Historical Society has invited Gustavo Arellano to speak at the January General Membership meeting, and share his alternative view of Orange County history. It should prove to be a very interesting evening. Y'all might consider attending, the public is invited and admission is FREE.

Tuesday, January 27th at 7 pm

Woelke-Stoffel House (you probably call it the Red Cross House)

419 N. West Street, between Lincoln and Sycamore

New Year's Introspection and Choices

2009-01-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year. While many of us make our resolutions, life has hit me with more introspective soul searching opportunities than usual for this New Year. Back in October I honestly could not conceive of anything more depressing than Galloway's re-election. 2 days after the election we took my beloved Mother in Law to the hospital and I got hit with stuff that made local politics seem petty and immaterial. I had 6 weeks of watching one of my best loved friends die a quiet, dignified death, and it completely retooled the way I think about life. We buried her on the 27th, laid her beside her beloved Stanley for their Anniversary. And on Monday the 5th I went in for surgery myself, stuff I should have done in November, but put off (foolishly but no choice) to care for Mom. Complications arose, and I found myself spending the night on the 5th floor where I had just been with Mom, being cared for by the same nursing staff. Now I am stuck on a month's leave from work, unable to do anything but stare at the ceiling, read, and blog. Lucky you.

So now I find myself at a cross roads. I am in this odd place where I can at long last do absolutely anything I want to do with my life. Anything. Go back to school, start a whole new career, or pull up stakes and move altogether to a neighborhood I could never afford before. And it is kind of scary. Because now suddenly I have to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, and I realize I have very little idea of what that looks like. I know I want to finally finish my house. And spend time trying to help my family heal the hole in their hearts where "Grammie" used to be. Otherwise, no clue. Suggestions welcome.

I will admit that one of the thoughts bouncing through my noggin was to leave. I am tired of the boom boxes outside my bedroom window, tired of the shopping carts on the lawn, and the drug dealing dirtbag next door. And after that last election, I do not see it getting better, at least not while we have elected a City Council that insists on gearing our community to the least common denominator of poverty. Driving through neighborhoods I always admired (Hillcrest anyone?) and knowing I could buy one of those made it seem pretty good. Nah, Fullerton does not have a Mills Act program, and I am too cheap to pay full tax. But I was flirting with it.

So what changed my mind?

I realized I made a difference. The jerk next door who has been making life miserable with his drug dealing buddies using my corner of the world as a sales office came over. He apologized. His Mom got sick, and he needs to take care of her, realized he could not do that with his lifestyle getting in the way. So he dumped them. And as he saw the street return to some semblance of "normal", he realized he had been hurting us. He came over to say that he knew how hard Richard and I have been working to rally the neighbors and make things better and he had hurt that effort with his selfish action. He promised to work with me in the future to make this a place where his Mom could be proud to live.

So yes, I can run off to some quiet rural cul de sac where the biggest problem is folks not cleaning up after their horses. And I would go stark raving mad. Because in the end, I need to make a difference. At the end of my life, I want to point to my corner of the world and say I made it better. And for now that corner remains Wilhelmina and Lemon. God knows what the rest of the plan looks like, but I have a whole entire month to sit quietly and let Him tell what the plan is.

Where's the Beef?

2008-12-22T15:53:00.000-08:00

During the last few weeks of commuting to Mom's in Placentia, and running errands for her in Yorba Linda and Fullerton, I have become confused. Yes, more than usual. Anaheim brags about how much TOT we take in from the Resort District, and I have been among the most vocal of those braggin, I know. What confuses me is this: the streets, curbs and sidewalks of other north county communities are in substantially better condition than Anaheim. Why? Yes, Yorba Linda is a more affluent community, and Placentia and Fullerton have a more stable economic income base than Anaheim, but their property taxes do not come close to the TOT that Anaheim pulls in. So where does the money go? Why are Fullerton's streets in better shape when their General Fund is nowhere near ours?

Just wondering........

Sorry I Haven't Been Posting Lately

2008-12-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

Marianna Howland Ward, born March 5, 1930, slipped quietly into the arms of Jesus on Wednesday, December 17 at 9:45 pm. Her son Richard held her right hand, her daughter in law Cynthia held her left hand, and in her sleep she simply did not take her next breath. It was exactly what she had hoped for, and we are blessed that she did not suffer. Right up to the end, even as the cancer spread, Marianna was in no pain. None. The Lord had His hand on her thoughout this ordeal. I know that is hard to think of, when He took her against our wishes, but in the end she had no pain, no struggle, a dignified end for a remarkable woman. We were able to celebrate Christmas as a family before she dropped into sleep, all of her grandchildren gathered together, and she had written them letters that were put into their Christmas cards-with many tears. A dear friend, Kelsey Myers, came and played Christmas Carols on her harp, it was truly beautiful. Marianna left us with no regrets.

Services will be Saturday, December 27 at 11 am.
Memory Gardens Mortuary Chapel
455 W. Central Avenue Brea, CA

Marianna left provision for a lunch gathering after the service, location to be announced at the service, but please plan to join us after interment, as we recall Marianna in a more relaxed setting.

In lieu of flowers Marianna requested that donations be made to:
Ovarian Cancer National Alliance
919 7th Street N.W. Suite 1190
Washington, D.C. 20006
Or
St. Joseph Hospice
1845 W. Orangewood Avenue
Orange, CA 92868-9500

We also invite you, in honor of Marianna, to go out and just make someone’s day today. Open a door for a stranger. Call an old friend and tell them you love them. Forgive a hurt. Answer your telephone with a hearty Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening that makes your caller feel special. Marianna made every day count. May we all be so blessed.

With all of our family’s love to you and your family.

Candlelight and Castles

2008-12-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

Took a day off from the battle against ovarian cancer to goof with the kids at the House of Mouse. Richard and I have long talked about those Annual Passes, and then we cheap out and don't do it. But it is time, the restorative powers of the Happiest Place on Earth were beyond compare, and especially now that our brilliant leader Ahnold wants to tax Dland tix to the tune of nearly 10%, we figure we better grab those passes now. Yes, the new Sleeping Beauty visuals meet the Disney hype. But some areas bottle neck and we found ourselves essentially trapped in the castle, unable to move forward or back. Just avoid anyone who had the garlic shrimp last night and you're fine.

Candelight was, as always, unbelievably beautiful, it touches my soul like no church service. I had read on some blogs that you can buy dinner passes to the event, but they are pricey and sell out immediately. I'll let y'all in on the dirty little secret. I have attended Candlelight for several years now, and I have yet to buy a ticket. How? VOLUNTEER! Candlelight was intended by Walt to be a thank you to the community. While there may be a few people there who may have bought tickets, I would say the overwhelming number of people I see are the same people I run into at the community events. They are the people who volunteer as City Commissioners, or Board of Directors for local non-profits. Put in some time, make your world a better place, and let Walt's people say "thank you" at Christmastime. Not sure where to put in your time? Give me a holler, I have a huge list of ways you can help Anaheim.

Intl House of Blues Invitation to the Community

2008-12-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

International House of Blues Foundation-Anaheim
2008 Foundation Series: Visual Arts Workshop

The International House of Blues Foundation-Anaheim (IHOBF-Anaheim) cordially invites Anaheim community members and their children to attend an IHOBF-Anaheim 2008 Foundation Series: Visual Arts Workshop.

About the Foundation Series: IHOBF's Foundation Series is an annual series presenting opportunities for donors and other community members to learn about IHOBF programming and to experience an IHOBF program or an arts/cultural activity related to IHOBF program content. the IHOBF-Anaheim 2008 Foundation Series: Visual Arts Workshop will offer participants and their children (up to 2 children per attending parent, recommended age is 5 and above) an opportunity to participate in a hands-on art workshop at the House of Blues-Anaheim. The workshop will include a guided tour of the House of Blues art collection, draw on content from the IHOBF Blues SchoolHouse Program, and feature a mixed media/symbols art activity based on the work of folk artist Roland Knox. All materials will be provided by IHOBF and no arts related experience is required.

Date & Time: Saturday, December 6th, 2008, 9:00am - 11:00am

Location: House of Blues-Anaheim, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, CA 92802

Cost: this workshop is offered free of charge. Registration is required.

Registration: Space is limited and registration is handled on a first-come first-serve basis. To register please contact IHOBF Program Manager Amber Portz by telephone at 714.520.2388 or via email at ihobfanaheim@hob.com

About the IHOBF: IHOBF is dedicated to bringing the arts to schools and communities through programs that promote cultural understanding and encourage creative expression. For more information about IHOBF programs. please contact the IHOBF-Anaheim office by telephone at 714.520.2388 or visit the IHOBF website at www.ihobf.org.

The International House of Blues Foundation is supported by the House of Blues, House of Blues Foundation Room Members, Live Nation and other public and private donors.

Voter Literacy

2008-12-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

Today's image is our own Lorri Galloway, not only attending, but clearly leading, a Union protest at Disneyland that disrupted the vacations of our beloved TOT paying visitors, whose vacations help pay for the salaries of the firefighters who helped Re-Elect Lorri (talk about turning yourself into butter). The image is posted in "celebration" of today's swearing in ceremony, which Ms. Galloway insisted on moving to the Heritage Forum so her friends could all attend. Look carefully at the faces of these union leaders, they are certain to be at the party tonight! Sour grapes? Oh yeah, as sour as they get. But not for the reasons you are thinking. If I believed for a second that the people of Anaheim had a grasp of the very real issues that our City faces, if I believed for a second that the people of Anaheim truly understood who Lorri Galloway is and what she stands for, and that 22.6% of my neighbors wanted her to represent them, I would bow to that decision. But the reality is, many of the people who pride themselves on voting in every election do not bother to examine the issues, or the candidates, before casting that vote. Example: Jennifer Rivera, an unknown candidate who never filed a candidate's statement and ran no campaign, did not attend any candidate's forums, and never even posted a website, picked up 8,208 votes! How? She was the first name listed on the ballot-and voters were overheard at the polls admitting they simply picked her because she was first and they wanted to get home. So today I share this photo in one last scream of election futility. When voters were presented with this photo, Lorri lost votes. Sadly, the mainstream press, even the ones who bothered to cover the Union protest, never mentioned the presence of Lorri Galloway, so the exposure of this info was limited to a few political blogs. Thanks guys!

While I am the first to admit my viewpoints may be those of a bitter old (Forty-something) woman, a recent study http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/ shows that more people know that Paula Abdul is a judge on American Idol than understand the origins of the Gettysburg Address.

So what is the answer to increasing, oh lets be nice and call it "voter awareness'? One friend suggests sending voter instructions as a type of scavenger hunt. If you are smart enough to unravel the clues and find your polling place, you are smart enough to vote. I like it. At the very least, I think each and every one of us should be required to pass the same Citizenship test required of immigrants. Just for fun, see if you can pass it. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13442226/ Then tell me, what are your theories for keeping the "eenie-meenie-minie-moe" voters from spoiling it for the rest of us? Discuss among yourselves.

Ovarian Cancer Sucks

2008-12-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

Today my beloved Mother In Law came home in an ambulance. She is now in Hospice care, and we will knock ourselves silly making her comfortable for the few weeks she has. I hate this. We are talking about the most vibrant human being I have ever met. I have never heard her utter an ugly word about another person. Ever. Never seen her depressed or even really angry. Maybe frustrated a time or two. When the doctors came in on Friday to tell her the cancer had spread, she sat there for a little bit, absorbed the news, and just muttered, "Damn". Saturday she was down. Nobody can blame her. She wants to see her grandchildren finish college, dance at their weddings, and become a great-grandmother-in that exact order, please (and tease her son at becoming a grandfather). By Sunday, she decided she was done with that pity party. Life is short, and getting shorter fast, and she wants to spent her remaining days smelling the roses. So home she went. She has been a volunteer with the same Hospice group that is now caring for her (talk about awkward, every time I need something I have to tell yet another worker that she is sick) and Marianna has made it her goal to encourage her Hospice team through her passing! What do you do with a woman like that? Well first off you marry her son. Then you love her until you can hand her into the arms of Jesus. Hopefully much longer from now than the doctors figured. I think (and hope) they underestimate the feisty little firecracker they just diagnosed. We will start with getting her to hang on through Christmas, and then we will work on New Year's, and before you know it Valentine Day will be here.....thanks for the prayers. Please keep them up.

Sleeping Beauty and Christmas

2008-11-30T11:50:00.000-08:00

Today's image (courtesy of Google images) shows the Sleeping Beauty's castle under construction, prior to opening of Disneyland. The Mouse recently announced they have re-opened the Castle aftrer retooling the interior scenes to reflect the original imagery of the movie. They have also included an "accessible experience" which allows visitors to enjoy the scenes without climbing the flights of stairs. I look forward to seeing it opened again while visiting my favorite place prior to "Candlelight". For those who did not get that coveted invite, there is always the Nutcracker Tree Lighting at Downtown's Center Street Promenade on Saturday afternnon/evening, with snow trucked in againt this year, and the Anaheim Arts Council is again hosting art projects for the kids. I highly recommend the event, it is a great neighborhood kind of experience, and it is FREE.

A piece of trivia I just read today, apparently of all of Walt's princesses that could have been chosen for a castle depiction, Sleeping Beauty was the movie in production at the time, and therefore the blonde got the castle. So for those who think Disney's shameless marketing is new, Walt was doing it early on, and God bless him for it, today that shameless marketing pays for those wonderful firemen who worked their tails off last week. Fitzgerald and Anaheim HOME be buggered, I love the Mouse.

Farmer's Market Today

2008-11-26T08:41:00.000-08:00

In celebration of Thanksgiving, the Downtown Farmer's Market will be TODAY from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm, with a great chance to pick up fresh ingredients for your holiday feast!

From the OC Register, Mayor Thom Dies

2008-11-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

Former Anaheim Mayor Bill Thom dies
November 24th, 2008, 5:21 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
William J. Thom was mayor of Anaheim 1976-1978 and then served as chairman of the Democratic Party of Orange County in 1979 and 1980. He died last week at the age of 78, and a funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. tomorrow, according to current DPOC Chairman Frank Barbaro.
“He was very colorful, very funny,” said Barbaro, who also served a stint as DPOC chairman immediately before Thom held the post. “He was the consummate politician…. He was always extremely well dressed and well groomed.”
The funeral service is scheduled for St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church, 120 N. Janss St., Anaheim, according to former DPOC Chairman John Hanna. The phone number for the church is 714-956-3110.

Thanksgiving Came Early!

2008-11-23T17:12:00.000-08:00

For those who have been praying for My Mother In Law, thank you. After nearly losing her this weekend she rallied and seems to be out of the woods. Thanks to a procedure Saturday morning they were able to reinflate her collapsed lungs, and since she was breathing on her own they could take her off the meds that left her essentially incompetent. Now even her digestive system is kicking in, she is sitting up and running the world from her hospital bed! If she can stay healthy and continue to heal, the oncologist can start low doses of chemo next week and begin beating back the cancer. So we have a race for time, get her better enough to fight the cancer before the side effects of the cancer take her under again. So please keep praying, but for now we are all breathing, including Mom, and that is a miracle! I for one am VERY ready for Thanksgiving, much, much, much to be thankful for!

Cup of Coffee and an Old House

2008-11-22T06:44:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this e-magazine that sends me updated emails once a month. The owner is a period designer with a real passion for restoration and preservation, rather than the "let me make a bigger commision by replacing everything" types. So this morning I give them a shameless plug and invite you to spend a Saturday morning doing nothing but surfing the site.
Enjoy and have a great weekend. http://www.fromtimespast.com/

Fun Stuff in Anaheim Tonight!

2008-11-20T14:25:00.001-08:00

Having a much more positive afternoon after lunch with a friend. Amazing how one's outlook can change with just one afternoon not devoted to oncology. Thanks Chris.

And looking for the positive, we have multiple opportunities for great stuff to do in Anaheim tonight. Stephanie Hales Panlillio and her Trucor team invite us all to an Open House to review the completion of her new projects from 4:30 to 6:30 today. The homes are located at:

1231 W. Center
12225 W. Center
1219 W. Center

Some are relocations, and I believe one is new construction to reflect the surrounding Five Points neighborhood. While there, stop to admire Bill Taormina's new/old Five Points Flatiron building, soon to be a Ruby's Restaurant! The big pergola thing in the parking lot will shelter car hops and classic car shows! Also if you are there take note of the unfortunate tagging, and get the contact info for the new grafitti program Bill wants to start. One of these days I will have my camera ready and get a photo to post here.

Then stop by Farmer's Market on Center Street Promenade to enjoy their new hours, and grab some good eats to take to the Colony Potluck. This month it is at the Garner's home, the turn of the century Grim House, at 194 N. Vintage Lane. The team of sisters buys distressed historic homes, returns them to their former glory, and then sets them free on a new life with new owners. God bless them, this is about their 5th or 6th rehab in the Colony, and the place is going to be amazing when they are done. A fun group, I recommend attending. Just bring a dish to share, and your favorite beverage, at 7pm, and no you do not have to live in the Colony to attend.

My Daily Scream of Futility

2008-11-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

A challenge. Watch this without shivers running up your spine.
http://www.howobamagotelected.com/

Council Recap

2008-11-19T20:13:00.000-08:00

I finally got a break from the hospital, and got to watch the City Council meeting on the internet. Dear God, do we really have to listen to 4 more years of that nasally, petulant whine?

Anyway, the deal with SADI did not address any of the details of the affordable housing project; it merely allowed Lisa Stipkovitch to continue to negotiate the details, which is fair. But this is one I will be watching in the future.

It was highly appropriate that City Council honored the CERT class last night, as they were put to the test during this firestorm. Sadly, Fitzgerald of Anaheim HOME went on a rant about how cowardly some of the off duty firemen were to not come to work, and Mayor Pringle had to point out that many of them live in other communities and could not get in on the freeways. I guess nobody caught the irony of the fact that many of our Police, Fire, and City office Staff do choose to live elsewhere. Why is that? Hats off to our Police Chief for actually living in the City he serves, and he and his wife are very involved in community activities, which is greatly appreciated. I see them at all kinds of events, where I do not see other Department heads, because many of them are sitting on the freeway after 5 pm, heading for their south county homes. Seems like folks should be proud enough of the work they are doing to live close to the decisions they make. But that is just me.

Eyes and Ears on City Council

2008-11-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

My mother in law has now developed pneumonia (not a good thing with cancer) and will be having another surgery in the morning to try to alleviate her pain. I will not be at City Council to see if they bump SADI's profits, but I would encourage others to go and watch what happens. I will watch the meeting later on the net, and will report in on what happens. But anyone who wants to go and perhaps even say a few words about the fact that we are again dealing with a developer who already came back to the taxpayer trough for their last development, when others like Mercy or Jamboree are willing to do these projects for the usual 15-85 split.

Help Our Neighbors

2008-11-16T09:26:00.001-08:00

To donate to fire disaster relief, contact the Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org/

Corona Fire Jumps to Anaheim Hills

2008-11-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

The Yorba Linda/Corona fire has now jumped the 91 freeway, and is burning along Santa Ana Canyon Road in Anaheim Hills. 241 Toll Road is affected, and drivers are abandoning their vehicles to try walking out of the area. Weir Canyon Road is also involved, and we are all advised to stay out of the area and let emergency crews work. Gridlock is impeding the ability to evacuate residents. The Downtown Community Center has been opened as an emergency evacuation center, located at Center Street and Anaheim Blvd. Colony residents should avoid Anaheim Blvd and allow folks to get into the shelter. All residents are advised to stay inside, out of the streets, and close windows. Conserve water and energy to allow emergency services to access power and water pressure.

UPDATE: 4:30 pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ANAHEIM FIRES INFORMATION ANAHEIM, Calif. (Nov. 15, 2008, 3:25 p.m.) – The City of Anaheim Fire Department is calling for mandatory evacuations. BOUNDARIES: 91 freeway on the north 241 freeway on the east Weir Canyon Road or Serrano Avenue to the west And all homes to the north of Marblehead Way AND Mohler Drive on the north Del Giorgio Road on the west Canyon Rim Road on the south Deer Canyon Park and Fairmont Park to the east Approximately 4,500 homes and 12,600 residents have been asked to evacuate. SHELTER AND RECEPTION Those evacuated can report to the care and reception facility at the Downtown Community Center, located at 250 E. Center Street, Anaheim, CA 92805 (cross street Anaheim Blvd.). SHELETER AND CARE Katella High School (2200 E. Wagner), Anaheim High School (811 W. Lincoln), and Loara High School (1765 Euclid) are open as care and shelter facilities. The Annabella Hotel is also offering rooms to displaced residents at a discounted rate. The Annabella Hotel phone number is 714-905-1050. ANIMAL SHELTER Horses only- Rancho Del Rio stables are excepting horses 1314 Sandersen Avenue Anaheim 714-535-3510 As a precaution, the Fire Department is asking all homes and businesses to reduce their water use in the hill and canyon areas in Anaheim, east of the 55 freeway. Please visit _www.anaheim.net_ (blocked::http://www.anaheim.net/) , tune in to channel 3 (local only) or call 714-765-4333 for continual updates. Contacts: Maria Sabol PIO, Anaheim Fire Department 714-620-6234 Ruth Ruiz PIO, City of Anaheim 714-420-7797 cell

City Council Spending Our Money Again!

2008-11-14T19:11:00.000-08:00

There is a City Council meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, November 18. On the Agenda for the Redevelopment Agency is the following:

Approve and authorize the Executive Director to execute an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with SADI, LLC, in substantial form, for the development of an affordable multi-family housing project on the corner of Manchester and Orangewood Avenue.

Now y'all may recall that the last time SADI LLC came before RDA for an affordable housing project, it was that stucco monstrosity over at Elm Street Commons. Richard Chavez, backed by Lorri Galloway, pulled that project for discussion, and bumped the developer's profit from the standard 15% that every other developer gets, to an unprecedented 50% profit! All this (over Mayor Curt's objections) while Galloway admonished the developer to be sure to acknowledge how cooperative Council had been to them! If you will recall, Lorri Galloway recently received a substantial donation of Independent Expenditure during her campaign from "Elm Street", which popped for those ugly billboards all over town, and a hefty mailer.

So the questions for next Tuesday are:

A) Can Galloway even vote on this if she recently received an IE from the developer?
B) Will Galloway try to give away the farm again for this project?
C) Why do we continue to deal with private developers like SADI who demand higher profit margins, when non-profits like Mercy Housing do a fabulous job and agree to the standard 15% profit margin?

I for one intend to be there to ask, and will certainly report back here. Anyone care to tag along?

On a personal note, my beloved Mother In Law, Marianna Ward, has been diagnosed with advanced stage 3 cancer which has metastasized, and prayers are welcome and appreciated. I will be dramatically scaling back a lot of my volunteer work, and frankly much of my work-work for a while. If you are here looking for info on Marianna, I have begun a new blog at http://wardnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/ However, if I gave up watching City Council to watch my Mother In Law she would have my head, so I will somehow find the time for community activism. But I could use some help with extra eyes and ears during the challenges my family is dealing with, so if I can count on the community to give me a head's up for upcoming events, or dirty deals, it would help me immensely. Thanks.

New Hours and a Special Offer for Farmer's Market!

2008-11-13T14:20:00.000-08:00

This just in from the DAA:

New Farmer's Market Hours noon to 8 pm Thursdays! Center Street Promenade!

Come down to the Downtown Anaheim Association office during Farmers' with proof of Anaheim residence to get your $1 off (with any $5purchase) coupon!!Pick up some of my farm-fresh favorites:Yummy berries (blue, rasp & black), fresh dill roasted red pepper sourdough bread, red potatoes, vine ripened tomatoes, french crepes,organic avocados & Korean BBQ Chicken.Also, if you haven't been down in the last week or 2, there are somereally cool new non-agricultural vendors... Here's some of my favs...Knit beanies, mineral make-up, Peruvian art/handbags, cool trendyclothes, tie dye clothes, hand blown glass, hand-made jewelry, cuddlyblankets and amazing scented bath/skin products.We have a crazy unicyclist Noon-5pm, then an awesome blues/classic rock solo artist is performing from 5pm-7:30pm.

Economic Conference Wednesday Nov 12

2008-11-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

The Anaheim Chamber of Commerce is hosting an Economic Conference with a look at where Anaheim is going in the future, and how we will get there. The Conference starts at 9 am Wednesday, at the Grand Ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel. See the Chamber's website for details at anaheimchamber.org. Plan to stay for the Awards Luncheon as the Chamber recognizes Anaheim's businesses and their contributions to our community.

The Fight's Not Over so Let's Stay Busy Until We Know!

2008-11-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

Interesting. The Anaheim battle is not quite over. While it is likely that the incumbents will retain their seats, it turns out there are just under 240,000 absentee ballots still at the Registrar's office, and only about 19,000 of them have been hand counted yet. That does not include the paper provisional ballots that had higher than usual numbers as folks (like me) decided to opt for paper rather than wait in line for a machine. You can follow the progress of the counting at http://www.ocvote.com/live/totalstocount.asp Nobody knows how many of those uncounted ballots are from Anaheim, so the race is still anyone's guess. But one can still hope for a total upset, right?

In the meantime, we can all focus on making Anaheim a better place to live outside of the government by participating in community events:

Our own Downtown Farmer's Market now enjoys expanded hours and you can do your shopping for local produce, handcrafts, etc from noon to 8 pm, so those who work somewhere other than SBC or City Hall can enjoy too!

While you are down on Center Street Promenade, pop across the street to celebrate art in Anaheim. The Anaheim Arts Council is hosting their Art in Public Places Awards, 5:30 pm on November 6, (that would be tonight) in the Anaheim City Council Chambers.

Anaheim Cultural and Heritage Commision is hosting "Celebrando el Arte", with a reception at the Downtown Community Center, on Friday November 7 at 5:30 pm. The DTCC is on Center between Anaheim Blvd and Olive.

Also on Friday night is a Casino Night fundraiser for the Police Activites League, at the Hotel Menage (nice place) Call Georgina Meza at 714-493-4631.

Special thanks to Andrea Manes' column in the Anaheim Bulletin, you don't think I look this stuff up myself, do you?

How Does It All Add Up?

2008-11-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

The numbers are crunched, and the election has been called. Sidhu and Galloway retained their seats, my teenage daughter can have major surgery without my knowing why she is hemmoraging, but at least chickens can turn around in their cages. Sigh. While I spend the rest of the day tackling some therapeutic baking (chocolate fixes everything) you might want to see how the city voted. Here are the results by Precinct or Zip Code. http://electionmapping.ocgov.com/OCElectionMapper/Map.aspx