Foothills Sentry March 2022

Foothills Sentry Page 4 March 2022 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 31 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 Paramedic subscription fees raised The City of Orange has in- creased fees for the voluntary Paramedic Subscription Program (PSP) from $48 to $60 per year, while acknowledging that many residents are unaware that the program exists. The program covers the out-of- pocket cost of emergency assess- ment, treatment and transporta- tion provided by city paramedics and ambulance services. The city reports that the average emer- gency transportation bill today is $1,500. Fees for the voluntary subscrip- tion program used to appear on residents’ water bills and could be easily paid along with the charges for water. The city stopped do- ing that several years ago, and subscriptions to the voluntary program have gone down sub- stantially. Residents may not be aware the program is still offered, or how to pay for it. The fire department admits that a marketing program is needed to better publicize the service. Sev- eral Orange City councilmembers have suggested that fee collec- tion be returned to water bills to simplify the process for residents who want to participate in the program. The city will also institute a tiered PSP membership for busi- nesses and congregate living fa- cilities. The base subscription of $60 will cover up to 10 employ- ees/residents. An additional $60 will apply for each additional 10 employees/residents, up to 100 persons; and a $50 fee will apply for each additional 10 employees/ residents thereafter. Assistance League to honor high school seniors Assistance League will recog- nize local area high school se- niors via two of its most popular philanthropies: “Salute to Ser- vice” and “Scholarships”. After being virtual for two years, Salute to Service returns to an in-person event. They will honor seniors planning to en- ter the military after high school graduation with a celebratory din- ner, featuring a number of special recognitions. The event will take place at the Assistance League Chapter House on Wed., May 18. Names of eligible recruits should be submitted to SalutetoService@ alorange.org or kavanaghdani@ aol.com by March 4 to be invited to the festivities. Granting scholarships to stu- dents demonstrating both need and merit has been a tradition for Assistance League since 1948. These awards recognize students who fulfill general application requirements, as well as students who are pursuing specialized fields of study. Twenty-one schol- arships totaling $47,500 were given out last year. The deadline to submit online applications is midnight on Sat., April 9. For in- formation about the selection cri- teria and to access the download- able application, visit Assistance- league.org/orange/scholarships/ or scan the code below. TAWC’s Young Women of the Month announced The Tustin Area Woman’s Club named Alexa Fitch, Nadeen Heyari and Christina Peng as its February Young Women of the Month. Alexa Fitch of Foothill High is a scholar-athlete on the varsity dance team. When not dancing or studying, she participates in mock trial, and volunteers her time with the California Scholarship Fed- eration and National Honor So- ciety. She is an Hourglass Award winner with the National Char- ity League-North Tustin Chapter. Fitch is planning to major in busi- ness and/or communications at a four-year university. Tustin High School’s Nadeen Heyari is originally fromAmman, Jordan and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She moved to Califor- nia in 2018. She is the president of the Girl Up Club and Cultural Alliance Club. She is passionate about empowering people of all backgrounds, and plans to major in biology and sociology to com- bine her interest in medicine with her passion for social justice. She hopes to help the underprivileged bridge the gap between health disparities and achieve equality. Christina Peng of Beckman High is a firm believer in the pow- er of multidisciplinary storytell- ing. She has published her own children’s book, with proceeds going to a book fund for the in- carcerated. She has crafted biog- raphies of elders, so their stories are not lost. She also produced a film that saved California’s oldest Moreton Bay Fig tree. Her dream is to craft more stories that matter. Alexa Fitch, Foothill High Nadeen Heyari, Tustin High Christina Peng, Beckman High The following was sent to Orange City Attorney Gary Sheatz by the Shenkman & Hughes law firm. Gary: I am writing to follow up on my letter of January 8, 2022 concern- ing the City of Orange’s decen- nial redistricting. That redistrict- ing is subject to the judgment in Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, et al. v. City of Orange. Specifically, paragraph (e) of the judgment requires: Future adjustments to the boundaries of the districts estab- lished by the Electoral District Map ... shall be made in accor- dance with federal and state law applicable to general law cities, including but not limited to, the provisions of California Elec- tions Code §§ 21600, et seq. The residences of incumbent council members and candidates for elec- tion to the City Council shall not be a consideration in determining the location of district boundar- ies. While Map 119 – one of four maps the council indicated it would focus on – complies with these requirements, Map 121 – which was only recently revealed – does not. Map 121 has several bizarre features that cannot be explained by any legitimate districting cri- teria. Rather, Map 121 is a trans- parent effort to favor certain specific incumbents and council candidates, while punishing the two Latina members of the City Council for their frequent opposi- tion to the council majority. Map 121 illustrates what Justice Koz- inski described thirty years ago: Protecting incumbency and safeguarding the voting rights of minorities are purposes often at war with each other. Ethnic and racial communities are natural breeding grounds for political challengers; incumbents greet the emergence of such power bases in their districts with all the hos- pitality corporate managers show hostile takeover bids. What happened here — the systematic splitting of the ethnic community into different districts — is the obvious, time-honored and most effective way of avert- ing a potential challenge. Incum- bency carries with it many other subtle and not-so-subtle advan- tages, and incumbents who take advantage of their status so as to assure themselves a secure seat at the expense of emerging minority candidates may well be violating the Voting Rights Act. Today’s case barely opens the door to our understanding of the potential re- lationship between the preserva- tion of incumbency and invidious discrimination, but it surely gives weight to the Seventh Circuit’s observation that “many devices employed to preserve incumben- cies are necessarily racially dis- criminatory.” Prior to the 2020 election, we worked cooperatively to develop lawful and effective districts for the City of Orange, and those dis- tricts were an unqualified success. By doing so, we avoided further costly and divisive litigation. I hope the City will not attempt to reverse that progress by diluting the Latino vote in this new round of redistricting. If the City does so by adopting Map 121, we will be forced to challenge that action in court. Kevin I. Shenkman Orange district map may be challenged Monitoring wells to be placed at VPE The Orange County Water District (OCWD), which manages and protects the underground OC groundwater basin that supplies 77% of the water to north and central Orange County, is planning to install four monitoring wells in the parking lot of Villa Park Elementary School this summer. The monitoring wells are part of a larger project that will allow water from OCWD’s world-renowned Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) to eventually be put into the Santiago basins located in Orange. TheGWRSpurifies 100million gallons of treated wastewater per day, which meets drinking water standards. This ultra-pure water is put into the groundwater basin, using recharge facilities like the Santiago basins, to increase the local drinking water supply and protect the basin from seawater intrusion. Currently, most of the GWRS water is sent to OCWD recharge facilities in Anaheim, and the new project will allow for the future inclusion of Santiago basins in Serrano Water District. Construction of the four wells is scheduled to begin in June, during the summer break, and take two months. Monitoring wells are not open and will present no danger to children. There is no above- ground equipment and wells are sealed, flush with the ground. They will be used by OCWD to regularly test water quality, and are required by the state for permitting and operations. OCWD is proud of this project that supports providing an ample supply of high-quality water to the 2.5 million people we serve. For questions about the project, contact the OCWD Construction Hotline at (714) 378-8244.