Foothills Sentry September 2020

Foothills Sentry Page 7 September 2020 7 1 4 - 2 8 9 - 1 0 3 1 7 4 4 6 E . C h a p m a n A v e . • O r a n g e , C A 9 2 8 6 9 Now Open 7 days a week 7 AM -2 PM Zone • Behind Pacific Ranch Market • Stay Connected: Wi-Fi & Cappuccino • Breakfast, Lunch, Acai Bowls • Soft Serve Ice Cream & Milkshakes • Restaurant Seating Inside & Out Your neighborhood cafe in Orange has an extensive breakfast and lunch menu, full coffee and tea bar, açaí bowls and pastries. Come in and enjoy our homemade pastries, sauces and our specialty - our salsa! Serving food 7 days a week, 7:00am - 2:00pm Located next to Da Bianca Trattoria behind the Pacific Ranch Market. BRING IN THIS AD & RECEIVE 10% OFF A LUNCH ENTRÉE IN SEPTEMBER Dear Editor: I had a lot of fun going down to see the goats that were eating all the plants. When I read the cap- tion about the goats, I was sur- prised to find out that there were about 300. I also read that the goats were supervised by Great Pyrenees. I saw a dog guarding the goats that looked a lot like an Anatolian Shepherd. I looked in my dog breed book and the dog I saw real- ly did look a lot like an Anatolian Shepherd. I was just wondering if the dog I saw was an Anatolian Shepherd instead of a Great Pyr- enees. Thank you! Claire Wright, 9 years old Orange Ed note: You are correct: the dog is an Anatolian Shepherd. Thank you for your astute observation. Trustees off track Dear Editor: Thank you for your coverage of Orange County Classical Acad- emy, a charter school that was ap- proved by an OUSD board major- ity in December, despite its many deficiencies. It has since been shown that two of the board members who voted for the charter school re- ceived large donations from only one source each: in the case of Rick Ledesma, it was the Lincoln Club of OC for $23,878; and in the case of Brenda Lebsack, it was OC Charter Advocates for Great Public Schools for $17,194. Both the Lincoln Club of OC and OC Charter Advocates are connected to Jeff Barke and Marc Bucher, the founders of OCCA. Now that Brenda Lebsack has resigned, the question is whether the same special interests group will attempt to donate extensively to the candidate who will fill Leb- sack’s place and vote accordingly. I implore the voters in District 6 to pay close attention to which special interests are attempting to exploit the elected position of school board trustee to use pub- lic schools and taxpayer money for their own enrichment, while hurting our most marginalized students. Priya Shah Yorba Linda Dear Editor: Public education is under at- tack, and our students are being used as pawns. The recent deci- sion by the Orange County Board of Education to recommend open- ing schools immediately, without social distancing, masks or re- duced class size, was reckless and clearly politically motivated. Their decision to sue the State of California was also politically motivated, and will cost taxpayers millions of dollars that should be going to our children. They say they are being represented pro bono, but that ignores that fees must be paid, staff time will be used, and the state will be forced to defend itself with our very own tax dollars. We must be informed about the upcoming school board election, and who is behind the scenes sup- porting and funding candidates. The same group that funded the campaigns of the radicals on the OC Board of Education is the same organization that funded our OUSD incumbents who are currently running for office. I would bet they will throw a large amount of money at the candidate in OUSD Area 6 that these same incumbents endorse. We need better for our kids in OUSD. We need people on the board that care about public education, not ones that are trying to dismantle it. Lynn-Marie Frediani Orange Dear Editor: Follow the money. OUSD Trustee Brenda Lebsack recently resigned because she did not live in the area she was elected to rep- resent. When she ran alongside her ally John Ortega in 2016, the two were almost entirely funded by a political action committee (PAC), the identical PAC that produced the four OC Board of Education members who re- cently brought shame to OC by recklessly voting to recommend our children return to school im- mediately without modifications or significant safety measures in place to protect them or staff from infection. The identical players are also behind Orange County Classical Academy, a new charter school run by Jeff Barke, the husband of the OC Board of Education president. When that school came to a vote, Lebsack, Ortega and Alexia Deligianni-Brydges voted approval, despite a detailed and scathing 16-page report warning of critical defects in the charter’s application. This vote was pre- dictable, but potentially devastat- ing, as parents place their chil- dren in the hands of people like Barke, who intend to use them as political pawns to push their radi- cal agenda. (On Facebook he was asked if public schools lose fund- ing if one chooses to homeschool. Barke: “Yes, it’s a win-win.”) Trustees of OUSD are meant to be advocates for public education and the students in our community. Public schools serve students with learning disabilities, language barriers, economic discrepancies, and behavioral issues. If a candidate is entirely funded by PACs whose main goal is to dismantle public education, most likely their votes will follow suit, resulting in loss of services for those students who need it most. Let’s make sure those we elect to our OUSD public school board actually support public schools and their students, and not those supported by radicals trying to push a political agenda. Michelle Weisenberg Orange, CA Battle stations Dear Editor: I was disappointed to see the letter (August) stating that The Trails at Santiago would pro- vide much-needed parks, nature walks, and “open space.” The propaganda from Milan and its supporters has begun, and I think it’s time the truth is made avail- able to Orange residents. First of all, The Trails at San- tiago is no such thing. The so- called “plan” does not specify any “parks, trails, or open space.” The only provision is a loosely worded reference to a possible park or open space that has no funding, nothing on the map site, and no parking for the imaginary park. Furthermore, there is no money allocated to build, main- tain, or even landscape such an imaginary place. The City of Or- ange and the County of Orange have both refused to fund the imaginary “park.” Mark Moore’s assumption that Orange needs “more parks” doesn’t take into account the fact that Irvine Regional Park is less than two miles from the Sully- Miller dump site, is already there, and has over 160 acres of open space and trails (both hiking and equestrian). It also has amenities that the so-called Trails at Santia- go cannot possibly match. The only reason that Milan and its supporters want citizens to vote for their “Trails” project is so that a big money investment company (Milan) can re-zone their dump, so they can sell it to a developer. Let’s stop calling the “Trails” a vote for parks, and really say what it is: an egregious attempt to rezone an area for homes that don’t belong there. Vote “NO” on the “Trails” this November, and a rezone that ben- efits only Milan. John Reina Orange Dear Editor: I want to urge Orange voters to vote “NO” on Measure AA. The Santiago Creek development will add even more traffic to the clogged intersection of Santiago Canyon Rd. and Cannon St. When I recently purchased my home in Mabury Ranch, I didn’t realize how my commute south of Orange would negatively im- pact the quality of life with my family. Coming home prior to COVID-19, I faced a large line of cars, daily, that often backed up to the cemetery. I’ve heard our mayor say that adding a toll road fly over from the 241 will solve this deadlock. It will not. Inland Empire com- muters cut through our neighbor- hoods because they won’t pay to use the toll roads. It’s appalling that our city council approved this development before it solved this current traffic nightmare. We need elected representatives that look out for our residents, not developers. Let’s clean house this November! Let’s elect a new mayor and councilmembers that don’t make deals with develop- ers! Nathan Swanek Mabury Ranch Dear Editor: Vote “No” on Measure AA! The Santiago Creek develop- ment would put 128 homes on a concrete waste yard, in a high- risk fire area, near a flood plain, next to active methane vents! Our city council didn’t have the good sense to stop this. We need Orange voters to be the voice of reason. With few evacuation routes, we were stuck in our cars for more than an hour trying to flee the Canyon 2 Fire. It was even more terrifying trying to save large ani- mals. We don’t want to wind up like the residents of Paradise that burned up in their cars. We bought our homes based on the city-approved plans that call for this site to be open space. We are appalled that our city is changing those plans to make this developer richer. The city’s poor planning has created gridlock on Santiago Canyon Road. Council has al- ready approved another massive development of nearly 1,200 homes at Jamboree and Santiago Canyon Rd. Enough is enough! We worked very hard last year. More than 13,000 Orange resi- dents signed our referendum to put this on the ballot. Now our job is very simple. Just “Vote No on AA.” Chuck Emanuele Orange Dear Editor: When it comes to Measure AA, the only thing to remember is to vote “NO on AA!” The developer wants you to be- lieve that the only way to get rid of the eyesore on the former Sul- ly-Miller site is to give him 106 more homes. The developer has the right to build 22 homes north of the creek, but is asking for 128 on the south side. In exchange, he promises trails and natural park- land, but couldn’t find an agency to manage it, and has no plans to rehabilitate Santiago Creek. He promises that some future un- identified agency or organization will finance, restore, and manage the “open space.” Who would fall for such a bum deal? Orange City Council, that’s who! Council approved this de- velopment in a flood inundation zone, on a dangerous road, next to a methane-emitting former land- fill. In doing so, council thumbed its nose at planning documents our founding members put in place in the 1970s. The East Or- ange General Plan, the Santiago Creek Greenbelt Plan and the Or- ange Park Acres Plan all call for the property to be open space, a regional park or natural habitat. Tell this developer and city council, Orange deserves better! Please make your voice heard and vote "NO" on AA. Chris Walton Orange Dear Editor: With Measure AA on the bal- lot this Nov. 3, it is important that the citizens of Orange understand who the players are supporting the measure, and the tangled web of mutual interests between the outside investors threatening the welfare of the community. First, there is Milan Capital. It owns the land commonly referred to as the Sully-Miller property. They are the investors that wish to rezone most of the property from designated open space to residen- tial, in order to build a large hous- ing development. Second, there is the Chandler group, known as Rio Santiago LLC. They are operating the dump site on the Sully-Miller property. Chandler has since purchased Blue Ribbon Nursery and the property behind it, across Cannon from the Sully- Miller property. The property behind Blue Rib- bon Nursery is an old mining site that Mother Nature has beautiful- ly reclaimed, making it a hidden treasure, with wetlands and wa- terfalls and a place to fish. Why would Chandler want to fill in and destroy this incredible amenity and, in the process, displace the nesting area of two endangered species of birds? The only logical explanation is an intent to create a building pad for homes, which will be a process that takes thousands of truckloads of fill over a five-year period. How is this a win for the City of Orange? Neither the operations at the Sully-Miller site, nor the intended fill operation behind Blue Rib- bon Nursery are the actions of a good neighbor. The Sully-Miller dumpsite in the middle of a resi- dential area is a travesty, about to be compounded with another travesty. We need a new mayor and city council that will fight to protect the citizens of Orange and the city’s land use. Don’t be fooled by these guys. Vote "NO" on AA. David Hillman Orange Dear Editor: Milan should clean up the mess it created! I am happy to see the owner of the Sully-Miller site get slapped with an immediate cease and de- sist order issued by the County. For years, Milan and Chandler have been allowed to build the 40-foot mounds of construction debris, despite numerous com- plaints of noise, dust, pollution and lack of oversight made by residents to the city council. Rather than act on those com- plaints, even if it meant simply forwarding them to the proper enforcement agency, the city council ignored them. They re- fused to direct staff to investigate or use their enforcement author- ity. Instead, their solution was to rubber-stamp Milan’s 128-unit housing tract in 2019. No doubt Milan will try to ma- neuver out of the cease and desist order, but try as it might, the 40- foot mounds remain as evidence of the mess they created, and how our city has failed us. Milan must Letters continued on page 8