Foothills Sentry October 2020

Foothills Sentry Page 11 October 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 OCTOBER dents alerted government authori- ties about the violations. Once Orange County and the State of California got involved, an or- der was issued directing Milan to cease its activities. Milan ignored the order and has continued its illegal operation. OPA and its at- torneys continue to work with the public agencies, as Milan is not entitled to evade the law. OPA’s three-pronged approach to protect our General Plan and open space (Measure AA, CEQA lawsuit, OC cease and desist or- der) continues, and we need ev- eryone’s help. You can contact any member of the OPA Board of Directors to learn how to partici- pate with your time, talent, and funds. In the upcoming election, we urge you to vote "no" on Mea- sure AA as we should not change the General Plan. Defeating Mea- sure AA will force Milan to prop- erly respect the land use planning that has protected the City of Or- ange for almost 50 years. Sherry Panttaja, OPA board presi- dent Don Bradley, immediate past OPA board president Dear Editor: I have lived in the City of Or- ange almost all my life. I went to school here, got married, bought a home here in our Old Towne district and have built a good life. I’ve always loved Orange, and I still do. But lately, I am seeing a difference in the way our city is run. Specifically, I wish to address our current mayor and city coun- cil’s lack of respect for the needs and wishes of Orange citizens. A grassroots community movement by citizens, just like you and I, has driven the referendum that brought about the vote on Mea- sure AA in our upcoming elec- tion. This is a group who wants to see laws upheld, promises al- ready made to the community kept, and our unique local natural environments protected. They want to keep all of us safe from natural disasters that could befall our city, from lawsuits that could tax our city budget, from greedy developers trying to strong-arm our community and from a city council that is choosing to look the other way. I have felt sick at the mislead- ing ads that have presented the promoters of the residential de- velopment on the Sully-Miller dumpsite as the group wanting to “protect the environment” and close down the site. The develop- ers, Milan Capital, own the site. They are the ones who have al- lowed the property to become the eyesore it is today! They continue to operate it, despite the cease and desist orders that have been handed down from the county due to its illegal opera- tions. Why? Because they are us- ing its ugliness in their campaign to push their agenda for their own profit. Milan doesn’t care about Orange. They have created this environmental disaster in our city and have done so without permits, which is against the law. Our cur- rent mayor and city council have done nothing to stop them. They should enforce the law, close the dumpsite, and support the wishes of their constituents over those of the developer. I’ve never been especially po- litical, but when I see a wrong be- ing done, I have to say something. I am tired of big money interests controlling our city. I am tired of regular citizens’ voices not being heard. If our current city council and mayor do not seize this op- portunity to do what is right and best for the city and its inhabit- ants ... then maybe it is time for the citizens of Orange to say “no” to them as well. Replace them with public servants who do just that ... serve the public, not the developers. Please vote “no” on AA! Arlene Johnson Orange Dear Editor: When a city exercises its pow- ers to change long-standing plans for a community, it opens the door for change across the city. These types of policies are dan- gerous for the whole city, as there is much more at stake than one community. Plans should never be altered without overwhelming support from residents. The Or- ange City Council, however, once again overstepped its authority to change our General Plan for the benefit of an outside developer and in the face of strong oppo- sition from the majority of resi- dents. While there were a few who spoke out in favor of development on the Sully-Miller dumpsite, they did so out of desperation to be rid of the untenable nuisance that the city ignored. I am pleased to know the county issued a cease and desist order to stop the stock- piling operation of waste concrete that has apparently been going on without compliance to codes and zoning. The only one who will benefit from approving a development is the investor who gets a lucrative rezone from the city. Everything that comes after the rezone seems to be filled with caveats and promises that are mostly smoke and mirrors. And, instead of pro- tecting us from high-density laws that may come down from Sacra- mento, a rezone would actually make us vulnerable. Let’s keep our designated open space, pro- tect Orange citizens from devel- opment on unsafe land, constrain traffic, and follow our long-estab- lished plans. Vote "no" on AA. Lauren McLeary Orange Candidates Cornered Dear Editor: Thank you for publishing the OUSD candidates’ statements. One stuck out to me as particular- ly troublesome. Angie Schlueter- Rumsey claimed to be a “teacher in Orange County” who sent her children to “local Orange Coun- ty schools” and herself gradu- ated from “local Orange County schools.” Voters need to scrutinize these statements. Schlueter-Rumsey fails to tell voters that her experi- ence is exclusively limited to lo- cal private schools. She attended private schools, sent her kids to private schools, and has only ever taught in private schools. While voters are free to choose that ex- perience over a public school ex- perience, it is critical that voters know what they are voting for. In addition, Schlueter-Rumsey is endorsed by the current OUSD board members whose votes were clearly pre-determined by sub- stantial donations from an outside political action committee (and persons associated with it) who are committed to defunding our public schools by diverting funds to private schools. Their Decem- ber vote will potentially drain OUSD of nearly $15 million over the next five years. I believe that to be a trustee of a public school district, you should be a solid supporter of public schools, which this candi- date shows no evidence of doing. This November, let’s make sure the people we elect to our OUSD public school board actually sup- port public schools and their students, not those supported or funded by radicals trying to push a political agenda. Michelle Weisenberg Orange Dear Editor: As I drove down Santiago Canyon Road approaching Sul- ly-Miller, my jaw dropped and I was dumbfounded. Posted on the fence, with the usual mountain of ugly debris in the background, was sign after sign screaming for my attention. “Re-Elect Mark Murphy For Mayor.” Really?! Mark Murphy, are you so proud of the horrific mess you’ve helped to create that you need to stamp your signature all over it? Orange does not deserve the legacy that you are leaving us on your way out. Having lived in Orange for 34 years, I remember in 2000 when Hansen operated the Sully-Miller site. It was mostly a flat meadow, except for the small concrete re- cycling operation screened by trees in the corner of the property. Over time, the mining operation ceased and Hansen was down to the dusty business of just crush- ing rock. Under the pressure of complaining residents adjacent to the property, the planning com- mission voted, in 2002, to com- pletely shut down Hansen’s op- eration. If that had been the close of the story, all would have been a sweet ending because the land could have reverted to open space. But no … Hansen pleaded for a three- year extension in hopes of re- couping financial losses. In an in- credulous turn of events, in 2003, the city council, which included Mark Murphy and Mike Alva- rez, voted to overturn the whole concept of a shutdown rather than take the three-year deal. To- day, Milan is the landowner and the business operation is run by Chandler/Rio Santiago. With a wink and a nod, Mayor Mark Murphy and our city council have allowed their business to operate without supervision and morph into the stockpiling of concrete waste. Our city council’s solution is to sweep the whole thing under the rug by plastering houses over it. It is their intent to invalidate long-term city plans by removing the property from the Santiago Greenbelt Plan and support a re- zoning in favor of houses. Our city council rubber-stamped their approval to place family homes in a dam inundation area, next to a field with migrating methane gas, and adding to traffic gridlock in a fire zone -- robbing the city of designated open space that was agreed upon 50 years ago. We have had enough of Mark Murphy and Mike Alvarez, who seem committed to outside inves- tors over the citizens of Orange. It is crystal clear that the time to act is now. Please vote Murphy and Alvarez out. Please vote NO on AA to stop houses from being built and to preserve open space zoning on the Sully-Miller prop- erty. It’s the right thing to do. Julie Maurer Orange Dear Editor: “Between a Crime and a Dime: Bribery and Campaign Contribu- tions” is a published legal analy- sis about the corruption of politi- cians. The analysis noted that a scenario of a “pay to play” crime can be a contributor’s “undue in- fluence” on the political acts of a candidate, that deprivation of honest services can be a crime, and that the appearance of cor- ruption can include the percep- tions of voters and constituents. An examination of contribu- tions to past and current cam- paigns of candidates for the Orange City Council raises ques- tions as to why certain individuals and businesses are making dona- tions. The incumbent mayor, who is seeking re-election on Nov. 3, and two, so far, council candidates have each received a $1,000 con- tribution from the California Real Estate Political Action Commit- tee (CREPAC). Why? CREPAC is administered by the California Association of Realtors, which, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), spent $471,250 to help defeat a measure that sought to protect 400,000 acres of rural land in Santa Clara County. In the Orange mayor’s 2018 campaign, he received contribu- tions from a property manager and a consultant for developer Milan Capital, which seeks to build 128 houses on the Sully-Miller site. The mayor later led the coun- cil in approving a General Plan amendment that enables Milan’s proposed development known as Trails at Santiago Creek. That ap- proval is being challenged on the Nov. 3 ballot because more than 13,000 Orange voters signed a petition for a referendum leading to Measure AA. Other previous campaign do- nations include payments from Southern California Edison to all four current council members. Why? In 2010 another private investor-owned utility, PG&E, spent $46 million on Proposition 16 to make it difficult for cities to provide lower energy rates to residents and businesses through Community Choice Energy (CCE). The proposition failed after op- ponents, with access to less than $100,000, cited a study finding customers of public electricity providers paid lower rates than customers of private utilities. In light of Edison’s proposed 14.4 percent residential rate increase effective in January, why doesn’t the Orange City Council even study CCE to save constituents money on their energy bills? In “Big Money Talks,” the FPPC wrote, “The reality in poli- tics is that money talks.” While political action committees and private utilities may spend vast sums of money influencing legis- lators, constituents can overcome them by exerting their will and power with their votes. Ratepay- ers can decide that saving money on energy bills makes it worth- while to explore CCE. Voters can outshine the influence of special interests, including developers, and not be swayed by promotion- al media featuring incumbents at taxpayer expense and produced by campaign donors. Nancy Jo Albers Orange