Foothills Sentry September 2024

Foothills Sentry Page 6 SEPTEMBER 2024 Learn more at eocwd.com LOVEWATER. SAVEWATER. Thank you for your conservation e orts, you’ve done a tremendous job! Continue to commit to save water as a lifestyle change. It’s the right thing to do. Family. Friends. Community. We’re all in this together. State Farm, Bloomington, IL 1801073 Ron Esparza, Agent Insurance Lic#: 0C79663 827 S. Tustin Ave Orange, CA 92866 Bus: 714-505-3400 ron@ronesparza.com Buying or Selling? Landlord or Tenant? We are there for you! Call us for a no pressure consultation MLS#PW24094477 Individual Office Leasing Opportunities Starting at $550 2543 E. PALMYRA 3 bed 2 bath House in Orange $1,195,000 630 W. PALM #44 3 bed/2.5 bath townhome Orange $4,295 PER MONTH AVAILABLE! FOR LEASE IN ESCR W! AND WE CAN SELL YOURS TOO! MLS# PW24096767 MLS# PW2416827 Fences and corridors Chain-link fencing now marks where The Irvine Company (TIC) plans to build 1,180 single-family homes on both sides of Santiago Canyon Road, from the eastern edge of Irvine Regional Park to the southern tip of Peters Canyon Regional Park. At the Aug. 6 meeting of the Inter-Canyon League (ICL), nat- uralist Joel Robinson explained that the City of Orange approved an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for an even larger develop- ment in 2005. But in 2014, TIC donated the land south of the toll roads for open space, retaining only the “Santiago Hills II” area, renaming it “Orange Heights.” While grateful for the 2014 set- aside, Robinson nevertheless said that building anything in Orange Heights would be a bad idea. One major problem is the area’s his- tory of wildfires, like the 2017 Canyon 2 Fire which burned over 9,000 acres. And “it will happen again,” said Robinson, noting that more people means more risk of ignition. There are also wildlife impacts that weren’t anticipated in 2005, such as the possible listing of lo- cal mountain lions as a threatened species. Destruction of the wild- life corridor between the two re- gional parks would doom at least one lion. Because the 2005 EIR did not consider some species (includ- ing an endangered bumblebee) now known to be present on the land, Robinson says that a new or supplemental EIR is needed. He urged people to write to the may- or and city council of Orange to make that a requirement. For more information, see naturalist-for-you.org/noorange- heights. Get in line Locals were stunned last Oct. 11 when a 181-unit housing de- velopment near Cook’s Corner (“Saddleback Meadows”) was seemingly presented as a “done deal,” no public input required, at a meeting of the Foothill/Trabuco Specific Plan Review Board. The public provided input any- way, including that from a Hid- den Ridge resident who stated that in case of a wildfire evacua- tion, her only exit was a road that the 181 new houses would also have to use. All according to plan As Andrew Tonkovich noted last month, the county is updating its General Plan, described as a guide for “long-term growth and development.” If you have any thoughts con- cerning “growth” or “develop- ment” in the canyons, you can let the county know at planoc.gener- alplan.org . You can also hear county rep- resentatives discuss the General Plan at the ICL meeting on Tues- day, Sept. 3, 7-9 p.m. See inter- canyonleague.org . Fire, ice, and chips After ice cream and fire readi- ness tips on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Library of the Canyons, haul your overgrown vegetation to Chipper Day across from the Silverado Community Center on Saturday, Sept. 21. Sponsors include the Fire Safe Council of East Orange County Canyons, the Inter-Canyon League, and the Or- ange County Fire Authority. Fire at the library Don’t panic. Firefighters were at the library Aug. 1 to show off their gear for Firefighter Story- time. No fire, but junior firefighter hats for everyone, said Marilyn the Librarilyn. And if you want to know the difference between a fire engine and a fire truck, now you can ask a preschooler. Some upcoming library pro- grams: Annie Banannie Balloon Show, Tuesday, Sept. 17, and IRC kestrel presentation, Thursday, Sept. 26. What color is black? One of our most common na- tive canyon plants is a fragrant three- to six-foot-tall bush that celebrates spring by shooting up spikes bearing ping-pong-ball- size flower clusters every few inches, like fuzzy shish kabobs. The small flowers are white or pale purple, and the plant is called black sage. Why black? Nobody knows for sure. There are already other plants called white sage and purple sage. Af- ter this sage’s flowers fall off, though, the stems and seed pods dry up and turn dark brown, so perhaps somebody just called that black. Black sage is related to com- mon sage, the plant used in cooking, and you can substitute black sage leaves for common sage if you don’t use too much. Back when Silverado Elemen- tary School hosted classes from downtown at its Nature Center, the kids reportedly made sausage with black sage. Some Native Americans used black sage for treating flu, coughs, rheumatism, arthritis and earaches. Naturally, these primi- tive people had no knowledge of science, whereas today, the in- ternet gives us instant access to all the latest black sage facts and recommendations. Like this from whitemagickalchemy.com : “To use: Light the sage wand and smoke all around your body to cleanse and purify yourself. This is done before ritual or spell casting. To clear the home, light the sage wand and begin in the eastern corner of your house, moving in a counterclockwise di- rection. When you are ready to welcome peace, love and good positive en- ergies into your space, move your sage wand in a clockwise direc- tion and bring all that good en- ergy in! Extinguish your wand in an abalone shell or smudge pot after use.” Black sage