Foothills Sentry - January 2024

Foothills Sentry Page 4 January 2024 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 34 Years of Specializing in the Service and Repair of Mercedes-Benz Gary Johnson 714-997-2567 982 N. Batavia # B13, Orange, CA 92867 gary@johnsonmotorcars.com @ ramblingroseoc Valley of the shadow Dear Editor: The City of Orange is consid- ering a proposal to build multi- story dwellings at Katella and Cambridge. Why should we be concerned about this project? I attended the Design Review meeting because this project requires both a zon- ing change and a General Plan amendment. Additionally, the project, as proposed, would re- quire a change in setbacks and building heights from two-story to three-story with roof top pa- tios. Its location falls in the North Tustin Street Preservation Group's (NTSPG) focus area be- tween Katella and Lincoln. Four things stood out immediately: 1.) These homes are huge struc- tures, with little green space. 2.) The design is not compatible with the adjacent neighborhoods, as required by the design criteria of the zoning they propose. 3.) The "pocket park" on the north boundary should not be located adjacent to the Carleton Avenue properties. The plan puts this park adjacent to existing homes, and will be available to all residents of the new 49 units. This has the potential to subject the Carleton neighbors to an un- controllable amount of noise. This park should be centrally lo- cated within the development. 4.) The Carleton Avenue homes that back to the project will have no privacy, excessive noise and a complete loss of sunlight in their backyards during the winter months. At 1 p.m., the sun is at a very low 30-degree angle on the south- ern horizon. A 20-foot two-story structure will cast a 36-foot shad- ow to the north, thereby eliminat- ing natural sunshine in 26 feet of the backyards of the properties on Carleton Avenue. The City of Orange still has time to stop the project, as pro- posed, before this injustice hap- pens to your neighbors. This could also happen at Peralta and the Mall if we fail to make our opposition known. The Design Review Commit- tee got it right when a majority expressed their opposition to the project as proposed! Doug Hamilton Orange Ride on Dear Editor: My name is Avery. I am nine years old. I have loved horses my whole life. I originally started rid- ing because of the ponies at Irvine Park. Every since I started, I have made a strong connection with horses. Three months ago, I dis- covered vaulting, and Gigi at the OC Equestrian Center at the fair grounds. She is the best horse, and we all love her. It would be so sad to lose Gigi and my vault- ing family. Avery Aguirre Orange Dear Editor: My name is Maddie. And I love horses. So does everybody else here at the equestrian cen- ter. I have been riding for about four years, and I actually started with OC Vaulting just recently. Everybody I met here has been so welcoming, kind and just over- all amazing. It would break our hearts if you closed this eques- trian center. Maddie Farrell Orange Over OUSD board Dear Editor: Why is the OUSD Board of Education majority so afraid of transparency and public input? Since January, the Board ma- jority – Madison Miner, Rick Ledesma, Angie Rumsey, and John Ortega – have stifled public participation in consequential de- cisions that affect all of our Dis- trict’s schools and students: • The Jan. 5 summary firing of Dr. Gunn Marie Hansen, our award-winning superintendent – who was immediately hired by a competitor district – at a last-minute meeting called over winter break with many OUSD parents and teachers unable to participate. • The promotion of a so-called “parents’ rights” policy that does not, in fact, feature input from most OUSD parents, instead re- flecting the culture war agenda of political extremists who do not live in OUSD and who oppose public education. • Efforts to ram through a new 50m pool at VPHS without suf- ficient community consultation or even clarity on costs, a project that will require hard trade-offs, including the potential loss of state matching funds, and leave significant deferred maintenance of our elementary and middle schools unaddressed (at my sons’ elementary school, we had to raise money to buy backpack hooks!). • The rumored sale or lease of important OUSD assets, possibly including Esplanade Elementary School – a beloved community school that currently serves many low- and middle-income students. This appears – we do not know, because the Board majority will not say – to be an effort to lease Esplanade to Orange County Classical Academy, a Hillsdale College-affiliated charter, some of whose apparent supporters have publicly engaged in vitriolic at- tacks against our hard-working OUSD teachers and openly traf- ficked in homophobia and anti- trans prejudice. These decisions – and others like them – are too important to be made in secret and without public input. If we’re going to fire a superintendent, immediately de- stabilizing a District that serves more than 25,000 students, let it be for reasons that are known to the public. If we’re going to have an updated parents’ rights policy, let’s have a process that consults all OUSD parents. If we’re going to build an Olympic-size pool and forgo or de-prioritize other criti- cal OUSD needs, let’s make that decision together and based on full information. If we’re going to give away Esplanade out from under the noses of parents and kids already there – to a relatively wealthy charter school unlikely to serve those same parents and kids – let’s at least include the Espla- nade community in that decision. There are so many goods that come with transparency and genuine public input. Decisions are more likely to reflect com- promise, which sidelines hateful and extreme actors. The likeli- hood of self-dealing, corruption, and influence-peddling through money is minimized, strengthen- ing our unique American value of participatory democracy for all regardless of wealth. And, crucially, even if particular com- munity members disagree with an outcome, they are more willing to accept it – and continue in friend- ship with their neighbors – if they feel heard along the way. But Madison Miner, Rick Ledesma, Angie Rumsey, and John Ortega don’t believe in transparency or public input. They know that they don’t have real public majorities and so they must do the bidding of the wealthy non- OUSD interests who bought their seats, and they depend on secrecy and shutting out the public to get their way. It’s time to vote these four out and to find new board members who have the courage to engage in transparent and accountable governance and to listen to the en- tire OUSD community. We – the OUSD community, parents and teachers, and all of our kids – de- serve no less. Gregory Pleasants Orange Dear Editor: Once again, we witnessed an- other hastily-called emergency board meeting so the OUSD Board majority could do the bid- ding of their political funders. Mark Bucher and wealthy PACs related to him funded the vast ma- jority of the political campaigns of Madison Miner, Rick Ledesma, John Ortega and Angie Rumsey. It's supposed to be a non-parti- san position, but we see that they don’t care. We see them bending over backwards to give away Espla- nade Elementary to repay their wealthy campaign contributors at the expense of the most vulner- able students in our district. We see them passing the poli- cies championed by their bigoted campaign funders that target our LGBTQ students over and over. We see them neglecting our schools for the decades Rick Ledesma and John Ortega have been on the board, but pulling out all the stops to get their support- ers an Olympic-sized pool! We understand that their cam- paign funders hold their political futures in their dirty little hands -- and they are serving them, NOT us. We see them, and we will Re- call them! March 5th, 2024: vote these ex- tremist politicians OUT! Soren Williams Anaheim Dear Editor: I am concerned about OCCA's proposal to lease space from Es- planade Elementary. I am very frightened, as Esplanade is the school that belongs to my home. I would like the board's focus to be on these Esplanade students rather than a school that does not 100% support OUSD students nor is an OUSD school. My fam- ily has attended Esplanade, and it would be a real shame to pri- oritize anyone other than some of the most vulnerable students in our community for others that already have school choice. It is ignorant to not acknowledge the divide in socio-economic status of the area vs. OCCA attendees. I'm tired of sitting through these meetings where we've only fo- cused on Explore Academy and OCCA, not bettering existing OUSD schools. Madison Miner is the trustee that represents my area. I'm very concerned that this negotiation benefits her personally and politi- cally. Her children attend OCCA. Campaign contributions to Rick Ledesma and Miner last election cycle were made by those back- ing and directly behind OCCA. Now that there is a recall elec- tion looming for both Miner and Ledesma, the board seems to be rushing through this negotiation at an alarming clip. At the study session prior to this month's board meeting, I un- derstood that there was a formal process to determine if a property is in excess, and there is a proper process to negotiate said prop- erty. That is not being followed in this case. The lack of transpar- ency to the public makes it clear to me that the board majority are "repaying" their campaign donors with disregard to constituents like myself. I urge an update to the public on the real intentions with Esplanade, pursuant to ongoing negotiations. After last month's board meet- ing, Miner’s mother took to Face- book, accusing the board minority and community members of lying to Esplanade parents, insinuating that there was only interest in Es- planade's field, not the proposal that was submitted to the district. After this month's board meet- ing, Miner’s father took to Insta- gram to say the community mem- bers standing with Esplanade need to get their facts straight: that OCCA is not interested in Esplanade, but rather the Peralta site. I am appalled that, as an OUSD community member, the only in- formation I have at this time is the proposal submitted to the district by OCCA to negotiate space at Esplanade. This is not a person- nel matter that is private. This is a community issue that deserves community input, not the input of donors from outside the area, and to be shrouded in secrecy and emergency closed sessions. Additionally, Miner could be in violation of the Brown Act if her parents are stating additional facts that are being discussed in closed session, but are not being disclosed to the general OUSD public. I would welcome an ac- knowledgment, at a minimum, that there is an unethical spirit to the way this negotiation is trans- piring. I won’t hold my breath. I’ll just vote YES on the Recall March 5th. Erinne Mejia Orange Dear Editor: I grew up in Orange, com- ing from a low-income family. Esplanade Elementary set the foundation for me to graduate from CSUF with my bachelor’s degree in 2021 and now with my master’s this upcoming January. Being a first-generation Latina student was not easy, but recog- nizing the value Esplanade Ele- mentary brings to our community is important since it serves about 90% of Latino students. Its potential closure would hin- der those kids from an opportu- nity to go to college since most parents that take their students to Esplanade do not have the means to transport them to a different school. Throughout my school educa- tion, I kept going back to Espla- nade as a middle and high school student. Esplanade always wel- comed me with open arms and resources when I needed advice on where to apply to college or to ask for financial aid. Those teach- ers were the first who made an impact in my life and reminded me that anything was possible regardless of my background. Without them, I would not have been a student or now working in the administration and finance department at California State University, Fullerton trying to make a change in the world as my teachers did for me. Thank you for providing a plat- form for community voices, and I hope that this letter contributes to a more comprehensive under- standing of the situation of pre- serving Esplanade Elementary School in our community. Daniela Perez Orange Dear Editor: My name is Clara and my daugh- ter is a student at Esplanade School. I also have two older chil- dren who attended this school. I wanted to express my thoughts about the situation that Esplanade Elementary is going through. I think it is unfair that they want to sell this school since it has helped many students for several years and I hope it can continue to help with the education of many chil- dren. Clara Ariz Orange Ed. Note: this letter was trans- lated from the writer's original Spanish.