Foothills Sentry Page 4 NOVEMBER 2025 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 34 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 @ramblingroseoc Circulation … 39,000 Published on the last Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. Printing by Advantage, Inc. 714-532-4406 foothillssentry.com 1107 E. Chapman Ave., #207 Orange, CA 92866 ©Foothills Sentry 2025 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 officemanager@foothillssentry.com "Safety" continued from page 1 closures were nonstarters. Boulders placed around the park’s pedestrian walkways would need to be lodged deeply into the ground, and placement would be impeded by the area’s shallow pipes and roots. While boulders can slow vehicles, they are not engineered to be crash barriers and are generally used in slower speed situations. Mayor Dan Slater allowed that boulders might be considered a temporary fix that would indicate the city is “doing something,” but they are not a good idea. Nor is closing the 100 blocks of Chapman and Glassell to through traffic at night. Staff reported a number of disadvantages, ranging from cost to staff time to impacts on surrounding thoroughfares. Glassell and Chapman serve some 800 to 1,000 vehicles from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and there are 125 on-street parking spaces in that area. The Plaza is also an emergency response route. Nix on some fixes Closure would hamper late night visitors’ ability to reach downtown businesses, strand cars parked on the street and increase emergency response times. Closing the Plaza would also divert traffic onto other streets, many of which are residential. A nightly closure would also require barriers to be set up and taken down daily by a city crew. Additional staff would be needed, adding $150,000 to $400,000 to the budget. Mayor Dan Slater and Councilman John Gyllenhammer viewed rumble strips as a reasonable stopgap to reduce traffic speed while the city explores permanent options. “The point is to protect life,” Gyllenhammer said, “to slow traffic before it reaches the Plaza. Have we thought of speed bumps?” “Rumble strips are at least something,” Slater advised. They could, he said, be installed faster, before someone gets killed. But rumble strips, laid on the road to alert motorists to slow down, are noisy, not suitable in the Old Towne environment and would be a nuisance to businesses and residents. They would also slow down emergency vehicles “It’s a dead idea,” Jon Dumitru concluded. Islands in the stream Raised median islands, used on many roundabout approaches, protect pedestrians, encourage slower speeds, channel traffic and can be landscaped to make them more attractive than other types of barriers. While several council members and public speakers supported medians, it was noted that raised, landscaped barriers would impact Sounds of silence Dear Editor: The last nine months we have seen a shocking amount of chaos, scandal and violence in our local Orange County community, and I can’t help but notice the silence from local elected Republicans. Daily kidnappings from masked gunmen targeting our diverse immigrant communities in Santa Ana, Irvine, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Orange and many others. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, children ripped from their cars, homes, jobs and parks! Silence from our elected Republicans. Billions in funding to our schools, colleges and universities cut or ransomed! Crickets from our elected Republicans. Except for Republican Congresswoman Young Kim. She voted to take those billions from our schools and local economy. Billions in healthcare and food assistance stripped from poor, sick and disabled citizens, hurting our local hospitals, food banks and farmers! Silence from our elected Republicans. Except for Congresswoman Young Kim. She voted to take those billions from our most vulnerable community members. Tariffs raising our costs for food, clothing, electronics, cars and lots more. Silence from local elected Republicans. Except for Congresswoman Young Kim. She chose to give away her Congressional powers and allow these tariffs. If you look at the social media of our local Republican politicians, it seems they exist only to send surrogates to ribbon cutting ceremonies, but that’s it. Why haven’t Steven Choi, Tony Strickland, Phillip Chen, Diane Dixon, Laurie Davies, Tri Ta, Kate Sanchez, Don Wagner or Janet Nguyen stood up for immigrants and American citizens being kidnapped from our community? Why haven’t they spoken out against the billions being taken from our schools and colleges? Why haven’t they screamed about the poorest and sickest constituents losing their healthcare and food assistance? Why haven’t they pushed back on the tariffs that harm our small businesses and YOU and I? Were they elected to do nothing? Soren Williams Anaheim Don't ditch DRC Dear Editor: I am writing regarding the Orange Planning Commission and City Council decision to substantially reduce the scope of the Design Review Committee. From my personal perspective, their professional review and experience are extremely relevant to preserve the character and desirability of the City of Orange. This type of review is important to not just Old Towne, but all of Orange. As a resident of Orange Park Acres, I see massive “rebuilds” that are the size of small commercial buildings that no longer reflect the OPA goals and objectives or neighborhood compatibility. These projects are passing with administrative design approval by city staff and have not been reviewed or presented to a committee that evaluates the impact on neighboring properties in terms of mass, light trespass, privacy, use of color and building materials. Furthermore, it seems the city has limited ability to enforce plans that have already been approved. In my opinion, the Design Review Committee is a valuable asset to be preserved. The DRC’s professional perspective and expertise in design, architecture and landscaping serves as a resource to both city staff, with its limited resources/budget constraints, and adds value to community aesthetics. Laurie Sandoval Orange the footprint of the street fair, reducing booth space and pedestrian access. At a cost of approximately $300,000, medians were not ruled out. Bollards gained the most support. There are currently 16 crash-rated bollards installed at the beginning of the pedestrian walkways through the Plaza. Staff recommends putting in 11 more to fill gaps, increase pedestrian safety and further impede impaired drivers. “Although,” Public Works Director Chris Cash noted, “they won’t stop everything. It depends on the size and speed of the vehicle.” A strategic approach Arianna Barrios suggested that before a decision is made, the council should consider crash data that the Police Department likely has already. “There have been 44 incursions since 2018,” she said. “The police do a fine job plotting trajectory of these accidents. Right now, cars are getting past the bollards. We need to look at this with more science, with a better understanding of how incursions are coming in.” Jon Dumitru agreed that there “might be interesting data from a trajectory study.” "Councilmember Barrios brought up an interesting point,” Denis Bilodeau added. “We need a larger data set. The enhancements have helped, but the issue is impaired drivers at night. Are flashing lights helpful? Maybe curb reflectors? I’m concerned about bollards; they can kill people. We’re not trying to kill motorists, just make them turn right.” Ana Gutierrez said she liked bollards, but wanted more information on how to slow errant traffic before it reaches the barriers. “I’m concerned about life over property,” she explained. Moving right along “In the spirit of doing something,” Slater motioned that staff do further research and report back on the councils’ suggestions and get final thoughts from the city traffic commission. In the meantime, he added, install rumble strips on the 200 blocks of West and East Chapman where there are no residences. Jon Gyllenhammer seconded the motion. Barrios asked that residents be alerted to rumble strips before they are installed, and Bilodeau opposed the motion outright because “rumble strips won’t stop drunk drivers.” Gutierrez made a supplementary motion agreeing with everything Slater said, minus the rumble strips. Bilodeau seconded. The vote was 5-2 in favor, with Slater and Bilodeau dissenting. Nathalie Adourian named Orange city attorney The City of Orange has appointed Nathalie Adourian as its next city attorney. A longtime Orange resident, Adourian previously served as senior assistant city attorney, playing a key role in advising all city departments and overseeing liability, employment matters, transactional agreements and compliance with the California Public Records Act. “I’m excited to welcome Nathalie as our next city attorney,” said Mayor Dan Slater. “She has been a very effective member of our city attorney staff for more than six years and has proven her leadership capabilities.” Adourian began her service with the City of Orange in 2016 and joined the city attorney’s office in 2019. Previously, she worked as human resources and risk manager for the City of El Monte and in private practice as an employment and labor defense attorney. “Consistent and equitable application of laws and policies, combined with empathy and professionalism, creates an environment where organizations can thrive,” said Adourian. “Orange is home to me, my husband and two children, and it is a privilege to serve as city attorney. I look forward to continuing to support the city council, staff and our local community with dedication and integrity.” Adourian holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of California, Irvine; a master’s degree in dispute resolution and juris doctor from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law; and an associate degree in risk management for public entities. Born in France, Adourian moved to the United States at age 13 and is the first in her extended family to earn both bachelor’s and graduate degrees. Nathalie Adourian OC Book Fair coming Book lovers, alert! The OC Book Fair will be held in Old Town Tustin on Sat., Nov. 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The day will feature author talks and book signings, activities for kids of all ages, panel discussions and community roundtables, a plethora of books in a wide variety of genres and unique gifts, brought to you by Arvida Book Co., Tustin Community Foundation and other local, independent booksellers, publishers and book-ish vendors. For information, visit theocbookfair.org.
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