Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/miguel-pulido/)
Flor Barajas, Deputy Director at OCCORD, argues that Willowick Golf Course, currently zoned as Open Space, could be developed as a regional park adjourning Santa Ana and Garden Grove. Barajas writes that public lands should not be sold to developers but instead elected officials should protect this asset for future generations.
The city councils’ action struck down hopes for a park between two park-poor cities and stirred opponents’ fears developers will turn the property into an urban hotspot and price working-class families and Latinos out of the surrounding neighborhoods.
But City Hall’s day-to-day leadership remained in limbo.
Council members vote Tuesday on a nearly $400,000 separation agreement ousting City Manager Raul Godinez and decide on a replacement for longtime City Clerk Maria Huizar.
Santa Ana Thursday unveiled its new 200-bed interim homeless shelter, dubbed The Link, that has beds for single men and women, limited beds for couples and space for families.
An update of ballot counts Wednesday evening showed Anaheim and Santa Ana candidates retaining the leads they had in election night counts. At least 40 percent of ballots are still left to count across Orange County, which could take weeks to finish counting.
The Nov. 6 election comes as the city faces an ever-worsening financial crisis, pulling $10 million in one-time money this year to make ends meet.
OCTA officials ended discussion in June of a Harbor Boulevard streetcar after cities couldn’t agree on the project. Meanwhile, an existing streetcar plan to connect Santa Ana and Garden Grove will cost far more than originally expected.
Santa Ana City Attorney Sonia Carvalho adjourned Tuesday’s city council meeting in the middle of public comment while people were still waiting — some for four hours — to address a half-empty dais.
A federal appeals court this week supports what U.S. District Judge David O. Carter has been warning county and city leaders about for six months: If they don’t offer a realistic option for homeless people to stay overnight, police can’t enforce anti-camping ordinances. On Friday, Carter is bringing OC civic leaders back to court to gauge progress.