Foothills Sentry December 2021

NEWS INSIDE East Orange • Old Towne Orange • Orange Park Acres • Villa Park • Silverado/Modjeska Canyons • North Tustin A Monthly Community Newspaper December 2021 *********ECRWSSEDDM**** Residential Customer Letters To The Editor Page 4 Canyon Beat Page 7 Obituaries Page 10 Real Estate Page 10 Service Directory Pages 11-13 Prof. Directory Page 13 Classifieds Page 13 Sports Page 14-15 The Best News In Town Since 1969 A DAY TO REMEMBER High school championship team meets up 40 years after its winning season for memories and merriment. See VP water polo, page 8 FOLLOW US at Foothills Sentry DASHING AND PRANCING Tustin Schools Foundation’s annual run to raise funds was dressed up with a Halloween costume contest. See Dino Dash, page 6 PACK IT IN New Orange ordinance enables multiple dwellings to fill out small lots. See Orange Council, page 2 THE PEN IS MIGHTIER Op-ed writers decry lack of transparency in city government and belligerent behavior at school board meetings. See Guest Commentary, page 4 DETOUR AHEAD A thoroughfare in Old Towne Orange is removed from county highway map –at least for now. See Glassell, page 3 See "OUSD" continued on page 4 Field of Valor proudly hailed at Handy Park The 7th annual Veterans Day Field of Valor flag display stood proudly in Handy Park for a week in November. Sponsored by the Community Foundation of Or- ange and local businesses, the flags were erected this year in just two and a half hours by some 200 volunteers. The brainchild of Gary Remland, the Field of Valor has been supported by commu- nity donations since he first pre- sented the idea to the foundation eight years ago. “The Foundation agreed to take it on,” Remland says, “and right away a board member’s family foundation do- nated flags." The Home Depot donated rebar to stiffen the flag stands and, that first year, 25 people assembled the flags in the lumber aisle. The flag toppers were also do- nated. Veterans' friends and families bought a flag, and an information sheet about their service member posted alongside it. Flags were given to those donors after the Field of Valor came down. To date, the Foundation has brought in over $200,000, which it passes on to local veterans groups. Bill Knudsen, an Orange Vietnam veteran, stands next to his flag with wife Pat. Photos by Tony Richards Angry constituents assail OUSD Board for yet-to-come mandates outside its jurisdiction By Tina Richards Orange Unified School District Board meetings have, for the last three months, been dominated by public comments demanding that trustees lift state-required mask mandates for students and stand up against the potential state ac- tion to mandate vaccines. The hours of in-person com- ments and emails read aloud have ranged from thoughtful concern about the long-term effects of masks and vaccines to personal at- tacks on board members accused of threatening parental choice by enforcing state mandates. At the Nov. 18 meeting, pub- lic dissent moved from peaceful protest to an aggressive, near-vi- olent demonstration. An overflow crowd outside the boardroom pounded on doors and windows and shouted epithets. Some inside the room interrupted trustees, yelling over them with language unbefitting a public meeting. The antics of one individual forced Board President Kathy Moffat to suspend the meeting until order was restored. Fear and loathing A security guard was posted in the boardroom and escorted board members to their cars af- ter the meeting. Boardmembers have received email threats and been pilloried on social media. Parents who favor mask man- dates and vaccines say they are afraid to attend meetings. The protests against vaccine mandates are premature. At this time, there is no vaccine man- date in the State of California or Orange Unified School District. On Oct. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsome announced that he would issue a mandate for public schools once the vaccine had been vetted for children and recommended by federal and state medical experts. That has not yet happened. If a mandate were issued, it would include a medical exemp- tion and a personal belief exemp- tion, meaning parents who do not want to vaccinate their children against COVID would not be forced to. It would not take effect until the spring or fall semester. Orange ouster of Mary’s Kitchen delayed by six months By Tina Richards U.S. District Court Judge Da- vid Carter has prohibited the City of Orange from initiating evic- tion proceedings against Mary’s Kitchen until May 1. While the judge found that Orange has a le- gal right to terminate the license agreement that allowed the non- profit to serve meals to the home- less at 517 Struck Avenue, he de- layed any action for six months to avoid “irreparable harm to the unhoused residents of the City of Orange.” The six-month delay gives Mary’s Kitchen time to find an al- ternate location and gives the city time to enhance its plan to replace services offered by the nonprofit. Orange had already submitted a plan to restore the meal, medi- cal, mail, and clothing gaps that a shuttered Mary’s Kitchen would induce, but Judge Carter rejected it, calling the proposal “an outline that lacks concrete and workable actions. “Without a concrete transition plan during the ongoing pandem- ic and upcoming rainy season,” he wrote in a Nov. 2 ruling, “the city is leaving the unhoused peo- ple of Orange in a situation more dangerous than the one in which it found them.” No meeting of the minds Carter’s ruling came after court- ordered negotiations between the city and Mary’s Kitchen reached an impasse. The city was willing to give the kitchen an additional 90 days to find another location; the nonprofit wanted 18 months. Mary’s Kitchen had asked the court for injunctive relief against the city’s early termination of its license agreement. The current agreement was renewed in 2019 and effective for five years, but allowed the city to end it at any time. “Due to the clear text of the li- cense agreement,” Judge Carter found, “Mary’s Kitchen is not See "Mary's Kitchen" continued on page 3 State petition available for signatures The petition to put a constitu- tional amendment on next year’s state ballot to restore land-use decisions to local jurisdictions is now in circulation. Statewide, 997,139 signatures must be col- lected to put the measure on the ballot. The Neighborhood Voices ini- tiative is “tri-partisan,” supported by Republicans, Democrats and No Party Preference (NPP). It is a response to state legislation (SB9 and 10) that enables up to six units to be built on residential lots in single-family neighborhoods, regardless of local zoning laws, General Plans or necessary infra- structure. The initiative seeks to “amend the California constitu- tion to make zoning and land use issues community affairs, and not of state interest.” Locally, the Orange Park Asso- ciation, Old Towne Preservation Association, Foothill Communi- ties Association (North Tustin), Villa Park and Anaheim Hills are pooling their efforts to collect sig- natures. Volunteers are collecting signatures in public places, but proactive voters who wish to sign the petition may email StopSB9@ gmail.com or call (714) 900-2672 to find out where they are located. Meanwhile, a resolution sup- porting the initiative was passed by the Orange City Council on Nov. 9. The resolution specifically cites the failure of Senate Bills 9 and 10 (and others) to incentiv- ize affordable housing in favor of developer speculation, and the imposition of a “one-size-fits-all” mandate that ignores the unique needs and differences of local ju- risdictions. “The ability of local jurisdic- tions to determine for themselves which projects require review beyond ministerial approval,” City Resolution 11363 states, “is a matter of critical importance to the City of Orange and many other municipalities.” Issues re- moved from local review by the See "Petition" continued on page 6