OC Blog

A New Appellate Court House in Santa Ana

In partnership with Santa Ana City, the Courts of Appeal in the 4th District held a ground breaking ceremony for a new court house that will be built near the corner of Santa Ana Blvd & Ross Street.  Former senator Joe Dunn was spotted working the room with other state officials like Chief Supreme Court Justice Ronald George and Assemblyman Mike Duvall.  In recent years, under Mayor Pulido's leadership, Santa Ana is slowly becoming the "downtown" of Orange County.  Pictured to the left holding the ceremonial shovels are: Presiding Judge David Sills, Chief Justice Ronald George and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido.

Save the Date: Reception Honoring New Dean for Chapman School of Law

This came over in the morning from the California Republican Lawyers Association:

WHAT:        Reception Honoring Dr. John C. Eastman, Dean of
                  Chapman University School of Law

WHERE:       Enterprise Counsel Group, ALC,
                   Five Park Plaza, Suite 450, Irvine, California 92614

WHEN:        Tuesday, September 25, 2007
                  5:30 PM - Meet and Greet
                  6:00 PM - Guest Speaker

The Sheriff's Department New Academy

In partnership with the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD), the Orange County Sheriff's Department will hold a grand opening ceremony of their newest Regional Training Academy next week on September 11, 2007.

Built by RSCCD with the financial support of Measure E, the new 52,000 square-feet facility will be able to train up to 800 students annually, compared with just 300 in the old academy.  This will be the biggest and newest law enforcement academy in the County of Orange.  Students at the academy will be trained under the direction of both the Sheriff's Department and Santa Ana College.

Sheriff Michael Carona and Supervisor Bill Campbell are a few of the dignitaries expected to be at this grand opening ceremony.

Power out in Irvine -- over 9 hours now

Batteries running low… Must get word out…  Foodstuffs spoiling… Cell phones almost out…

Sad to say, DeVore manor has been without power for most of the last nine hours, along with about 3,100 households in the Northwood area of Irvine. 

About 23,000 energy customers were knocked out yesterday.

Southern California Edison spokeswoman Vanessa McGrady said, “It’s like running your car 100 miles per hour seven days a week. Eventually something is going to give out."

We made an initial call to Edison this morning to report the outage.  We found out that this is helpful as the system is not digitized, meaning that when customers report in, the utility can better pinpoint the problem. 

HBP Commission To Review OC Parks Strategic Plan

Tomorrow night, the OC Harbors, Beaches and Parks Commission -- of which I am a member -- will meet the review the draft Strategic Plan for Orange County parks.

You can review the plan here.

Anyone interested in attending the meeting, hearing and watching the staffing presentation  pf the plan, and making any comments is more than welcome to attend.

We'll be meeting at the Muth Interpretive Center, 2301 University Drive, Newport Beach.

Special OC Invitation: "Truth About Trucks" by Ford F150

(Full disclosure, and I hope Jubal enjoys this...Ford Motor Company is a client of my firm.  Nonetheless, this is a cool event that Ford is doing next week and we've been authorized to invite some friends, and heck, all my fellow OC Blog readers are friends, right?)

Ford Motor Company and the F-150 Present...

Jimmy Camp At The Doll Hut Tonight

This came over the transom last night from my friend Jimmy Camp:

Hey Kids,

Come on down to the Doll Hut in Anaheim on Friday, June 22 around 9:30ish and I will be performing followed by the world famous Ziggens. There is no cover charge and it is 21 and over.

Jimmy

The Doll Hut, located at 107 South Adams St. at the corner of Adams and Manchester between Lincoln and Broadway in Anaheim is open 7 nights a week from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.  Call 714.533.1286 for information and directions.107 S Adams St, Anaheim, CA 92802, USA - Google Maps

Communist Vietnam President to Visit Orange County

I was informed today by a reader that the President of Vietnam Nguyen Minh Triet will indeed make a quick stop in Orange County as part of his official state visit to the United States at the invitation of the White House.Triet and his delegation will be arriving at LAX this Friday.

The delegation is scheduled to stay overnight at the Saint Regis Hotel in Dana Point where they will host a private reception for invited guests only on Saturday.  The Vietnam President's arrival will surely stir the ire of the Vietnamese-American community, which met last week to plan a protest against his visit.

Relationship between the two countries turned sour when Father Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest and political dissident was arrested by the Vietnam's security forces.  The picture to the left was taken a few months ago of Father Ly being prevented from speaking in his own defense at a public trial in Vietnam.

I believe it is also worthy to note that since Dana Point does not have its own police department, the Sheriff's Department is likely to be a part of the security plan even though the Secret Service is usually in charge of dignitary protection.

UC Irvine Men's Volleyball Team Visits President Bush Today

Here's a picture of the UC Irvine men's volleyball team from their meeting with President George W. Bush today during NCAA Championship Day at the White House:

Little Saigon Gathered to Protest Communist Vietnamese President Visit

Last night about 100 people gathered at the Nguoi Viet Daily News's meeting room to explore the community's options on how to deal with the upcoming arrival of Communist Vietnamese President NGUYEN MINH TRIET to the United States and possibly, Southern California.  He is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House on June 22, 2007 to discuss bilateral trade and human rights issue.

It is yet to be known if Triet's delegation will make their way to Orange County, home of the largest Vietnamese-American community outside of Vietnam.  His presence here in the OC however is certainly not welcome as indicated by the "No Communist Zone" resolutions passed by the cities of Garden Grove and Westminster in 2004.