Santa Ana Police found “a sophisticated marijuana-cultivation system, 45 marijuana plants and a cache of weapons at a home,” according to the O.C. Register. Here’s the ironic part – the house is in Santa Ana Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez’ ward – just a few miles from the Santa Ana Police Department!
The map above shows exactly how close this pot house was to the Santa Ana Police headquarters. The “A” on the map is the pot house and the “B” is the Police Department headquarters. Alvarez’ mom does not live too far from the pot house – and Alvarez uses that address as her residence in the city, even though her own backers admit that she spends a lot of time in Irvine, where her boyfriend allegedly resides.
The pot house was also an armory, apparently. Here is what the officers found in it, “six rifles, including one that had been reported stolen. They also found two handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, including 30 high-capacity ammunition magazines.”
Didn’t Alvarez say at a City Council meeting this year that violent crime was decreasing? Yet a few miles from her alleged place of residence the police stumbled across a pot house loaded with more weapons than some small police departments! It makes you wonder if crime has actually been INCREASING while Alvarez has been spinning mentiras!
As a Santa Ana resident I am shocked, just shocked, to think that a City Council member, is living in an area where this kind of OBVIOUS crime is taking place. Why DIDN’T Claudia Alvarez KNOW about this? Eight guns and one them stolen, anyone else would have sniffed this out! I bet there are NO illegal activities going on in Art’s neighborhood. No Siree, HE has x-ray vision and extra-hyper snoop radar. I ‘ll even bet that Art’s super sleuthing finds Claudia has even BREATHED the SAME AIR as some of the criminals roaming our streets. If only we all had Art’s super powers, connecting seemingly random dots and jumping to SINISTER conclusions, we could sleep easy knowing that all crime could be eliminated using his methods.I am sure the Police could use a good man like you, Art.
#1,
Congratulations! You entirely missed the point. Maybe if Alvarez actually LIVED in her alleged house she would know more about what is going on in her hood. And maybe she ought not be lying about crime decreasing in our town? Perhaps she meant to say that crime has decreased in Irvine, where she supposedly spends most of her time…
You say that crime is increasing. And I assume you mean “crime” in general…any type of felony crime…and don’t give us your line about gang shootings going up or some other isolated example.
So where are your stats to back that up? When you accuse someone of lying, you damn well better have some facts to prove that, rather than a bunch of empty rhetoric.
Once again Pedroza your brain crystallized into mush potatoes.
1) Growing marijuana is legal under the State law.
2) The Gun ownership is constitutionally protected.
There was no crime committed and Alvarez is right[emphases added].
Perhaps you think that the constitution was baned too!
The only crime committed in this case was by Alvarez and SAPD not uphold State law and constitution.
I think everyone gets the point but you, Art. When you post these silly illogical rants you lose all credibility. If you want to prove Claudia wrong, post some FACTS and STATISTICS.
Readers,
When Claudia Alvarez was elected to SA City Council in 2000 there were 17 homicides citywide. In 2001 that number shot to 24, in 2002 it was 23, 2006 was a high year at 26 and yes murders were way down in 2007 at 23.
Santa Ana has more murders in ONE year than Irvine has had since becomming a city. Pathetic.
But it’s not just murders.
In 2004 there were 73 rapes, in 2005 there were 74 rapes and in 2006 there were another 73 rapes. I’m told there were only 65 rapes in 2007, not exactly a big drop.
Robberies you ask…..
2004-565 robberies, 2005-644 robberies, 2006- 787 robberies……so much for crime going down
And arsons jumped from 88 to 120 in just one year
If they don’t rape , rob or murder you….. Maybe they will just burn you….
Comparing Santa Ana to Irvine is unfair, the two cities have completely different demographics and histories. There are many areas where are City Council has blown it and are DESERVING of criticism, but you CAN NOT hold them accountable for every vagary and still have credibility. To intimate that Claudia Alvarez is somehow negligent or even remotely responsible for some paranoid pot grower in her “hood” is completely crazy!
#7,
That is not what I intimated. The fact is, Claudia shouldn’t be running her mouth off about crime going down when it is going UP in her own ward!
Sorry Art, but this is kind of a stretch, no? At least to the best of my knowledge, Claudia doesn’t have super-powers, your valid points about her residence and the rising crime rate aside. 😛
SMS
Sarah,
I am quite sick of the way Claudia and the rest of our City Council conduct themselves. They lie through their teeth about crime going down when it is not. Just look at the data Thomas provided.
And it is unfair for Claudia to spend most of her nights in safe Irvine while her constituents suffer through an endless crime wave. She ought to move to Irvine and run for their Council.
And it is a fact that Claudia runs interference for our inept police department and police chief, Paul Walters. They are given raises every year, seemingly, in return for campaign contributions to the Council hacks. Meanwhile the city is in fear, and only rarely are we able to celebrate catching the bad guys.
That the bad guys in this case were mere miles from Claudia’s “house” was just too rich not to mention…
I don’t disagree Art, I just think your post seems a little too opportunistic is all. It suggests that if Claudia was staying at her mom’s house that somehow she could do something more about this.
She’s already done what she’s capable of doing which is make it worse with her actions (or lack thereof) on the council.
SMS
Sarah,
Allow me to clarify once more the points of this post:
1. Claudia says crime is going down
2. No it is not
3. Claudia may not have a clue what is up in town as she reportedly spends a lot of time in Irvine, at her boyfriend’s house
4. Claudia should not be telling folks that crime is going down when it is not
5. That a major bust happened mere miles from Claudia’s mom’s house is quite ironic. So much for crime going down…
Claudia was also the main backer of Measure D, which was one big fat lie. She told the voters that Measure D would stop the developers from controlling City Hall. Yet the biggest backers of Measure D were, you guessed it, developers. The goal of Measure D was to give Claudia four more years on the Council.
The city spent $150K on Measure D. We were promised a Code of Ethics for city electeds and appointed officials, yet it has not been produced, weeks after the election.
We are about to be stuck with four more years of lying Claudia Alvarez. That is just not good.
I wish she would be honest and admit that crime is not in fact going down. But the one thing you don’t get from “Crazy Claudia” is honesty.
lol ‘Crazy Claudia.’ Love it!
SMS
Claudia can get elected Pedroza — you can not!… and if you could, you would end up same council ass kaiser as is Sean Mill.
Trying to remove wedge with wedge does not work.
“I wish she would be honest and admit that crime is not in fact going down.”
And we wish you would post facts that prove “crime” is going up.
Having Thomas tell us that robberies and arsons have gone up does not mean that “crime” has gone up. It means that robberies and arsons have gone up.
For a truer picture of the crime rate (Part 1 crime which includes theft, auto theft, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, homicide) than the one presented here, I refer everyone to the SAPD’s own 2006 Annual Report, page 12, which includes the trendline since 1991.
The trendline is NOT going up.
http://www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/pd/documents/2006AnnualReport.pdf
#17,
That’s a laugh! We’re supposed to believe the SAPD? The same guys who trade favors to Pulido and company for big raises? I don’t think so. Bad idea all around.
#17,
Here’s another thought for you to ponder. Do you really feel safer in Santa Ana now than you did a few years ago? We just went through three carjackings in two weeks. Did you somehow miss that?
#18,
So is your “point” now changed to an assertion that the SAPD has used phony numbers in its Annual Report?
Or is your “point” still, in the face of that downward trend, that crime is going up?
In either case, you haven’t proven your point.
#19,
Yep, I know about the carjackings.
Again, that example does not mean that crime is going up. Do you somehow not understand that?
#21,
Claudia said violent crime was decreasing. Do carjackings not fit that category in your crazed opinion?
#20,
It is a fact that the SAPD under reports crimes and they do spin the info they dole out. Thomas is working on an expose about this, using data from the FBI. Needless to say, the SAPD and Crazy Claudia won’t be happy about that…
#22,
Yep, carjackings are a violent crime. And it’s called an “assault”. Hello!
Let me say this one more time and maybe it will sink in…saying that there have been 3 carjackings in the last few weeks does NOT mean that crime is on the rise. That is just so empirically obvious that I’m astounded that it escapes you.
Oh well, I guess logic wasn’t one of your favorite classes.
Art, you exposed an expose! I hope nobody at SAPD is reading! Good luck Thomas, I hate corruption more than practically anyone!
SMS
Art, thanks for not posting my final comment.
#26,
How am I supposed to know which comment goes to which anon poster? Good grief! I have no clue who you are…but I have not deleted ANY of the comments on this post.
#24,
I have lived in this city for over fifteen years. I don’t remember any carjackings ever happening until this year. How can you NOT call that a rise in crime?
Just look at the data Thomas presented. And consider this…we are on the way to a new record in murders. Let’s see how Crazy Claudia spins her way out of that!
#28,
“I don’t remember any carjackings ever happening until this year. How can you NOT call that a rise in crime?”
Let’s try this one last time.
You’ve pointed out that 3 carjackings have happened in the last few weeks.
Do you not understand that a carjacking is but ONE…I’ll repeat that…ONE kind of crime. So you can’t point out a single kind of crime, say that 3 have occured in the last few weeks, and extrapolate that “crime is on the rise”. C’mon, we know you’re not really this daft.
Now if you want to propose to us that carjackings are on the rise, then show us some more data that highlights more than a 3 week period. For goodness sake, that doesn’t prove a darn thing. That’s like saying it’s rained 3 times in the last few weeks and that means annual rainfall is on the rise.
NOW do you get it?
#29,
And Thomas pointed out that murders, which are about as violent a type of crime as you can find, have gone up since Claudia got elected. What part of THAT don’t YOU get?
I would say that a town that has had no carjackings suddenly having three of them is not a town you want to be found in after dark.
May I remind you that last year Councilwoman Michele Martinez was robbed while walking in our downtown, to a city meeting with residents. A guy on a bike swept in and stole her purse while I was talking to her on her cell phone. Do you recall that sort of thing EVER happening to any of our Council members?
And last year a judge was robbed in her home, in West Floral Park. In her home!
I don’t see how anyone in their right mind can argue that crime is not going up. If anything, this city is quickly becoming a cesspool of crime!
“Pot house full of guns found near Claudia Alvarez’s house!” Art have you ever considered a job with the National Enquirer?
#30,
Actually, Thomas noted that homicides had gone down in 2007. At least he showed us more than 3 weeks of a single type of crime. Anyone involved in crime statistics knows that 3 weeks of even a rise in ALL crime is not enough of a span of time to conclude that “crime is on the rise”. Over a year or two or three, yes. 3 weeks is NOTHING!
But again…ONE type of crime that you’re attempting to extrapolate into saying that ALL crime is on the rise. You know as well as everyone else reading this that has absolutely no basis in logic.
Again, you point to isolated examples and try to extrapolate that crime is going up. That conclusion simply defies basic logic. You can’t get around that.
#32,
Again you are ignoring the rise in murders…not to mention shootings.
Spin away. But ask most folks in Santa Ana if they feel safer now than they did before Claudia took office.
Maybe you can ignore the shootings, the carjackings, the judges and council members being robbed. I am just glad I live north of the 5 freeway…
#31,
The O.C. Register recently cribbed one of my headlines…the one that read “When is a Mayor not a Mayor?” So I guess my ability at writing headlines is noteworthy.
The fact is, anyone can blog. Anyone can come up with stories and headlines. But doing so in a way that makes people stop to read it is what separates us from the rest of the crowd.
It is interesting to note that the Pulido and Alvarez hacks have yet to start their own blog. Maybe they aren’t skilled or creative enough to do so?
#33,
“Again you are ignoring the rise in murders…”
No I’m not ignoring that. I’m simply stating that you can’t take one crime type and if the number of incidents of that single, SINGLE, SINGLE crime type has risen, then turn around and extrapolate that “crime is on the rise”.
“…not to mention shootings”
Oh yeah? Would you care to present us with some meaningful data (meaning significantly more than 3 weeks) that says shootings are on the rise?
“Spin away.”
Nothing I’ve said is spin. It’s simply a logical refutation of your incredibly illogical conclusions.
according to info released to the FBI from the SAPD, type 1 crime, such as murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson is up.
Go look at the FBI website.
2004 had a violent crime rate of 1858
2005 had a violent crime rate of 1845- a slight dip
2006 had a violent crime rate of 1998- big jump….no?
2007 had a violent crime rate of 2365
Spin it how you want…. Crime way up, numbers don’t lie…politicians seeking re-election lie
That’s right, Art – you ARE creative!
SanTana is overwhemingly Hispanic and loaded with illegal aliens, and now, according to you, it is a “cesspool of crime.” Of course, Pedroza logic mandates that the blame for crime in SanTana should fall at PULIDO’s, REAM’s, Alvarez’s et al feet, NOT the people actually committing the crime.
My POINT is, Art throughs out these wild accusations and leaps of logic yet does everything he can to promote illegal immigration, calling everyone opposed “Mexican-haters.” Yet the very same people making SanTana a “cesspool of crime” are the “Mexicans” that he so valiantly defends.
Nice.
As for the crime stats, simply check them out yourself. The Register has a nifty tool available that shows that violent crime is, in fact, GOING UP in SanTana.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/crimecourts/article_1853440.php
The FBI stats are here, and property crimes are down, but violent crimes are up.
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/prelim2007/table4al_ca.htm
So, Art, you get it right about 10% of the time. Maybe if you weren’t such a craven racial opportunist, you’d have greater credibility and a chance to run for office.
But wait Thomas…Art says that SAPD under-reports it’s data. Are you saying that they don’t?
On top of that, you’ve shown yourself to be less than credible on this topic before. So how about you hit us up with link(s) to ALL of those stats you mentioned.
#37
You are WAAAAAY off in your assessment.
You can’t always blame the criminals for crimes either and certainly it’s racist to single out Mexicans. It’s a known fact that economic inequality is a major contributor to a high crime rate.
Maybe if the Mayor did more to promote better financial conditions, this wouldn’t be a police problem. I think that is part of Art’s point.
That along with the fact that politicians lie about the numbers in order to be able to ignore the problem or spend more money locking people up when it should be really be spent on helping people be able to provide or find gainful employment in the city.
SMS
# 38- I’m saying that the numbers are underreported. Both on the violent and property crime side.
And if you are going to call me a liar and ask me to your homework for you, your out of your mind.
Since it appears your Internet works, why don’t you troll you way over to the FBI website and look up the uniform crime reports. I’ll give you a little help since you appear to be a little slow…..check table 8 for the violent crimes….have fun!
And it appears our newest blogger can figure out in a week what Pulido has overlooked for the last 20 years. Pulido has neglected roads, parks, employment, and dozens of other very important things that have caused Santa ana to deteriorate while plundering and filling his bank account. Alvarez has learned from the master how to lie cheat and steal.
#40,
I didn’t say you were a liar. I said you have no credibility on the topic.
But bloggers on this site HAVE lied, distorted, exaggerated. You’ve got nobody to blame but yourselves that many people no longer trust your factual reliability?
We’re supposed to take what you say at face value? You’re the one that’s out of your mind.
#41,
The fact is, Miguel Pulido and his cartel hold all the cards in Santa Ana, as they proved with the passage of the very fraudulent Measure D. All we have is this blog, so you will forgive us if at times our poetic license is expired. The only remaining revolution in Santa Ana is this blog. Why do you think the cops keep harassing Thomas Gordon and me? They would dearly love to shut us up…
“The fact is, Miguel Pulido and his cartel hold all the cards in Santa Ana, as they proved with the passage of the very fraudulent Measure D.”
As I recall it was Martinez who wanted to take this issue before the people!
So get over it.
You lost!
“Maybe if the Mayor did more to promote better financial conditions, this wouldn’t be a police problem.”
#39 FYI, Mayor does more than enough for the employees of the city. $125K for a COP is not shabby. Unfortunately you must have legal status for city employment.
So before the Mayor can do anything economically as you suggested he must have legal population.
As to blaming Mexicans?…. in the city with 80% of Mexicans you must blame the Mexicans.
I hope that your education will dictate to you that it is always majority not minority which caries a burden.
#31
While the National Enquirer suffers from a much maligned reputation, it usually gets more stories right than wrong. That’s why the stars jump stories by going to the traditional newspapers.
Sarah, #37 here. Are you serious?
“You can’t always blame the criminals for crimes either and certainly it’s racist to single out Mexicans. It’s a known fact that economic inequality is a major contributor to a high crime rate.”
What part of that ridiculous, laughably out of touch utterance is “centrist”?
I have been following your posts here with interest, as I appreciate your quest to piss off partisan extremists, but what the F#@k do you call the pure, unadulterated crap your spewed above?
Let’s get this straight – you’re actually stating that when a HISPANIC gang member MURDERS someone in SanTana, which happens with frightening regularity, the HISPANIC GANG MEMBER IS NOT TO BLAME??
In a city with an 80% Hispanic population, it would be RACIST NOT TO BLAME HISPANIC CRIME ON HISPANICS.
You need a serious reality check, Sarah. Your ideology has short-circuited your intellect.
#43,
Martinez wanted mayoral term limits, which Measure D did NOT include. Measure D extended council term limits so Clownia could run again.
#44 and #46
Ok, I do see your point about the demographics about Mexicans and gang violence in SA, but are you saying that these young men are incapable of working for a living? I don’t think so. So we either find them employment or we deport them if they’re undocumented and commit crimes. The recent addition of ICE agents to our jails is a great idea to this end.
As far as cops making $125k a year… I don’t live in SA, but if that’s true you don’t see that as a problem? It just validates the perspective that the Mayor would rather overpay a few at the expense of the many and lock everyone up than try to provide opportunities for people who don’t want to be city employees or can’t be due to legal status.
For any plan to legalize undocumenteds to succeed, they need to be able to prove their worth. In that regard it would seem to me that Pulido is selling out his own people.
#43
Martinez, Pulido: politically the same person. It’s called hackdom and my acknowledgment of such is a major reason I, for one, was invited to join this blog.
SMS
I predict that Clownia Alvarez will finish her 3rd term in Santa Ana and realize she has no where to go politically. She’ll get pregnant and hopefully her boyfriend will marry her. Why Not? History has a way of repeating itself. Take a look at Nadia Davis and Teresa Arzate.
“Martinez wanted mayoral term limits, which Measure D did NOT include.”
Well Pedroza, there would be no Measure D if Martinez, you, Mill and Gordon would not push for [any] term limits.
There is old clich
Dear Mr. Art,
How do you know that Claudia has a boyfriend? Can you prove it? Unless you are willing to name names and give irvine addresses of said B.F. then shut the F up! (I respectfully ask of you)