Foothills Sentry - November 2023

Page 5 Foothills Sentry November 2023 "State of the City" continued from page 1 Circulation … 40,000 Published on the last Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. Printing by Advantage, Inc. 714-532-4406 Fax: 714-532-6755 foothillssentry.com 1107 E. Chapman Ave., #207 Orange, CA 92866 © Foothills Sentry 2023 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyhoff 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cliff Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Designer Jef Maddock graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 Office Manager Kathy Eidson officemanager@foothillssentry. com est equestrian community, good K-12 schools and first-rate col- leges in Chapman University and Santiago Canyon College. We also have premier hospitals and medical facilities. Just recently, Orange was recognized by the “OC Register” as having the best downtown in Orange County. Readers also singled out our In- ternational Street Fair and many local businesses as being the best in the region. “Over the past year, city staff accomplished many organiza- tional goals in service to our city. The City Manager’s office pro- moted business development by helping with site selection and entitlement streamlining for sev- eral new developments, engaged citizens on redevelopment possi- bilities for the Orange Mall, over- saw the preservation and reuse of historic properties in Old Towne -- Finney's Crafthouse Kitchen, Black Dot Coffee, the Richland Hotel; and collaborated with Old Towne merchants and owners to develop parking solutions, in- cluding the possibility of a new lot where the old fire station is. “With City Council guidance, staff developed legislative ad- vocacy and grant writing pro- grams. This has provided us a greater voice in Sacramento and helped us secure grants and ear- mark funding for vital city proj- ects. In the past year, we have been awarded over $8 million in grants, with $1.6 million in fed- eral funds pending. “Although Orange is consid- ered a safe city, the 2022 Crime Report came back mixed. Violent crime is down, robbery and ag- gravated assaults are up. Property crime had increased overall. This year, we are doing more engage- ment and outreach – 40 Neighbor- hood Watch meetings in 2023, in comparison to 12 in all of 2022. “The Orange Police Depart- ment now has the highest staff- ing levels in its history, with 161 sworn officers and six going through the academy. What we REALLY need is parking en- forcement officers! If you don’t mind being yelled at all day, please apply. There’s a $1,000 signing bonus! “Orange PD is also working with City Code Enforcement. To date, illegal sidewalk vending has almost been completely elimi- nated. Our neighboring cities are contacting us to find out how we did it. San Diego is modeling its street vendor ordinance after Or- ange's. We did it by impounding food, utensils, and equipment; closing unlicensed mobile food vendors; contacting 160 sidewalk The amount of money these groups pour into local campaigns makes it almost impossible for locally funded candidates to com- pete. Just last year, Madison Min- er spent more on paid canvassers ($10K) than her incumbent oppo- nent even raised. Now we see divisive policies and lies being pushed at board meetings -- policies that come from groups like Cal Policy Cen- ter, founded by Mark Bucher. We also see charter schools founded by Mark Bucher and his buddies getting approved by the school board politicians he funds. How can we expect these board members to represent us when they clearly only do the bidding of their biggest funders? We have the chance to change this in 2024. Soren Williams Orange Dear Editor: I provided a public comment at the October OUSD board meet- ing about an incident that hap- pened at my son's school. Due to time constraints, my comment time was limited to one minute. I want to provide the full text of my planned comment to provide context for anyone who wanted to know what had happened. I sent an email to the board re- garding an incident that occurred at Prospect Elementary’s an- nual trunk or treat event. A non- school group was set up on school grounds. As my son and I entered, we were directed by a volunteer to the group's table, who told us there was cotton candy available. When we spoke with the group, my son was told he could have cotton candy after entering the group’s trailer and watching a three-minute video. I pulled my son back, as the video would have been contrary to our fam- ily’s religious beliefs. Since he did not watch the video, he did not receive any cotton candy, which was upsetting to him, since what 6-year-old doesn’t love cotton candy? I’m surprised at the response I received to my email. If this had been Planned Parenthood hand- ing out candy in exchange for learning about birth control, or the LGBTQ Center handing out candy in exchange for learning about gender identity, I suspect members of this audience and board would have been livid. Was the tepid response I re- ceived due to the fact the group was the Chapel on Wheels? My principal sent an apology. Trustee Yamasaki sent an apolo- gy. Trustee Erickson apologized. Even the leadership of Chapel on Wheels and Calvary Chapel Old Towne apologized for the hurt it caused my son. I do not have an issue with Chapel on Wheels. I have an is- sue with them being on campus while bribing kids with treats to listen to their beliefs and with- holding those treats from those who don’t listen. When this whole recall busi- ness started, I had only recently moved to Orange and thought it sounded like a lot of sour grapes. How bad could they possibly be? I joined Facebook groups and chatted with a lot of people to try to see what was going on. I’ve watched all of the board meetings online. One thing I kept hearing was that the board majority is for “Parent’s Rights.” Well, I’m a parent. I have rights; and when those rights were violated, not a single one of the “parent’s rights” trustees said “sorry” or even responded at all. This made it clear to me that your meaning of “parent’s rights” does not include me. I made up my mind to support the recall and to provide matching funds for donations up to $1,000. Dan Rothenberg Orange History redux Dear Editor: I spoke at the Oct. 19 OUSD board meeting after sitting there watching the proceedings for six hours. These are my remarks: I’m really disturbed about the processes and procedures that are going on here. Accusations of self-interest and self-dealing, without the Trustee recusing himself. When I was 13 years old, I was struggling, trying to figure out all these things I was feel- ing. All of sudden what dawned on me was, "oh my god, I’m a queer." The next thought I had was "I’m part of the downfall of western civilization." I was 13 years old and I thought I was personally contributing to the downfall of western civilization. Those exact words came into my head. I looked everywhere I could, every library, every book, in public libraries and school libraries to find information to help me understand who I was, what it meant, and how to fix it. All I found was stuff that talked about how horrible I was, that I was mentally ill, and how my parents screwed up. That was in the early 1960s and was prob- ably influenced by the McCarthy era, when the worst thing you could call somebody was either a commie or a queer. And that’s what I’m hearing here tonight. Calling children and adults commies and queers. The groups of people who are talking about communists and queers will hold up a stack of papers or a book and tell you it’s something, tell you that kinder- garten kids are reading this, that this is pornography. What they are holding up is fake. And they’re all reading from the same script, the same lines I’ve heard over and over that are not factual. This is the same stuff that was happening during the McCarthy era. They were hold- ing up lies. They were holding up files and folders of lists that didn’t exist. It’s time to start caring about all the people in your district. I will end my remarks with the answer to the McCarthy era: "Have you no decency?" Linda May Silverado vendors to explain the rules. We also added weekend code en- forcement, with officers on duty seven days a week until 10:30 at night. “Homelessness continues to be a challenge. We understand that community partnerships are key to addressing the complex issue. The Police Department is proac- tive in connecting our homeless, most of whom are actually from Orange, with services, includ- ing via the HUB Resource Cen- ter, formerly the Mary’s Kitchen site. HUB has been effective. Some 368 individuals sheltered by Orange County Health and the Orange PD HEART Team have come directly from the HUB Center. Additionally, HUB con- nects the homeless with drug and alcohol rehabilitation, medical, mental health, and job training The Fire Department re- sponded to 17,792 incidents in 2022 – an 8.8% increase from the prior year. It responded to 18 fires throughout California and Oregon, the costs of which are reimbursed by the respective states. The department began an Ambulance Operator pro- gram in November. This pro- gram consists of 18 ambulance operators and two ambulances to assist with the expanded call load. While trucks and engines respond to medical aid incidents along with the ambulance, sub- sequent transport to hospitals no longer requires the engine or truck to follow. This program significantly unencumbers fire engines and trucks to respond to other incidents. “Do you know that our water system has approximately 445 miles of pipelines? Orange has 12 wells, with 75% of our wa- ter coming from groundwater. We purchase the other 25%. As a city, Orange has also suc- cessfully reduced its water con- sumption by nearly 30%, from an average high of 29.1 million gallons per day in 2014 to an av- erage of 20.1 million gallons per day now. “Last year, the city completed construction of PFAS treatment plants at four existing wells that were turned off due to PFAS contamination. PFAS are long- lasting chemicals often found in water, air, and soil. The city, in collaboration with the Orange County Water District, started construction in September for three more wells that are current- ly turned off. Three more active wells are in the planning stages for treatment. Finally, the City Council approved the construc- tion of a new well at the north- east corner of Lemon and Maple, which will include a pocket park and a PFAS treatment facility. “To further underscore our ef- forts to improve the City’s infra- structure and enhance our open space/recreational amenities, we are taking the necessary steps to restore and build upon Santiago Creek. By committing ourselves to restore this premier nature trail and improve its adjacent parks, Hart, Yorba and Grijalva, we en- sure we leave a lasting legacy that benefits our community and Or- ange families. “While we are certainly achiev- ing a lot in the City of Orange, it is no secret the Fiscal Year 2023- 24 budget required us to make difficult decisions. We are facing financial challenges in the years ahead. “The adopted Fiscal Year 2023- 2024 budget represents a General Fund structural deficit of over $5 million, that was balanced by de- ferring select capital projects, holding certain positions vacant, and transfers in from the Capital Project Fund. New strategies will be needed to shore-up projected operating deficits. The City Coun- cil will be fully transparent through this process, and we want to en- gage the community in these dis- cussions. I can assure you the city will always live within its means. “We have many projects in the works that we hope will serve as positive revenue sources and des- tinations for Orange. On South Glassell Street, Euro Caffe is al- ready open; tenant improvements are underway that will bring new life to the Sunkist Fruit Exchange building in the form of Zinc Café. On Tustin Street, Popeye’s is un- der construction, replacing the former Sizzler restaurant. Jim’s Original Hot Dogs will replace the former Genovese Restaurant. “On W. Struck Avenue, Prolog- is will build large warehouse with office space and maintenance buildings. As a direct result, Or- ange projects to gain $212,000 in property taxes, $216,000 in sales taxes, and $800,000 in de- velopment fees from 2023-27. The project will create $80,000 in taxes on an ongoing annual basis. “We have a number of afford- able housing projects in process: Katella Terrace will bring 74 units of senior apartments. Valen- cia Garden is under construction with 61 apartments. Mercy Hous- ing is converting the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse to 50 senior apartments. HomeAid Orange County is rehabbing three Old Towne bungalows to create six units, and Orion Apartments will bring another 166 senior apart- ments. “We’re getting a 2.4-acre park on W. Chapman between Inter- state 5 and the 57 Freeway. This site is adjacent to the Santa Ana River and Santa Ana River Bike Trail, and will be the first new park in West Orange in almost 50 years. “The challenges that lay ahead of us are clear, and while these challenges appear daunting, Or- ange is, and always has been, resilient. We are a city rooted in community and bolstered by meaningful partnerships with first-rate hospitals, schools and community groups. Together, I am confident we will persevere through these challenges and con- tinue to show why Orange IS the premier city in Orange County.” Photos by Tony Richards