Good Morning SA! I have read the responses to my previous post and would like to respond with gratitude and some clarification.
Squeaking wheels – work. I would also suggest that we would all do much better to appreciate everyone who lives and works in this city. If we are to act like a whole community then we need to think like a whole community. This is where machines can present a good or bad image largely dependant upon whether or not you feel like you are a part of it.
This idea of “Community Oriented Government” is one that invites groups and individuals to “engage” in being a vital part of any citywide machine. We all share many things in common and this often defines the wheel we identify with. But we should never limit our perception so that we should ever think that we are the only wheel in town. The world is a big place and so is any large city.
Specifically, there are tax payers, like myself, that live about as far away from the downtown as you can get and still be resident of this city. Nevertheless, for better and for worse, every part of this city, especially the downtown, defines where I and other property tax payers live who call Santa Ana – home.
We all have a vested interest in seeing Santa Ana’s image dramatically improve. How can we be “The Heart of The OC” and still be stigmatized by our Zip Codes as places realtors avoid. More than ever before, we need real leadership that can transform our city into something we can all be proud to call home. We need more than just another road for people to drive by Santa Ana. We need leadership with a vision that will provide our city with good reasons why people would want to drive to and stay in Santa Ana.
“All Roads Lead to Santa Ana.” Now let’s take advantage of all this traffic! One of my plans is to make “Santa Ana The Most Beautiful Place On Earth”. This plan is bold, beautiful, but most of all – doable. The precedents for this plan are local and proven. The best part of this plan is that it not only creates jobs – it also creates customers!
Specifically, I would have the people and merchants of Santa Ana consider how something extraordinarily beautiful is a must to see. One of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” was the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon”. Why not create a Seventh Wonder of Southern California”, that is a corridor of color running down Main Street Santa Ana, from the 5 to the 405? With the limited landscape, this would literally have to be a hanging – vertical garden. (The hidden beauty of this plan is that it could involve a lot of first time jobs for our youth in developing and maintaining these landscapes. Furthermore we could use the empty lots along North Bristol to be our start up nurseries that would compliment our city’s appearance immediately.)
As the spectacular Butchart Gardens in British Columbia has earned itself an International reputation, Santa Ana could also transform itself quickly into a truly world-renown city, even within 2 years, with just some water, some seeds and some willing hands. Moreover, I would then suggest we also adopt a coherent architectural style that is a natural for Santa Ana. That theme would be the classic “California Mission” style architecture.
Starting with the Bowers Museum in the North going down to St. Anne’s in the South, we could encourage more businesses to adopt this type of design in their new build and simply (and inexpensively) adapt their current buildings with a façade makeover. Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm are little more than façades of all sorts. We already have the buildings we just need to dress them up on a consistent manner that charms tourists and visitors. Again we are the Heart of the OC, if you lived anywhere else in the world, would you not expect to find a city in the middle of “The OC” that is every bit as beautiful as Santa Barbara?
We are already mostly there. We just need something like our own “Extreme Makeover” to see a change of heart and appearance of this city we all love. Again, this is a Bold and Beautiful plan, but most of all it is – Doable. Remember – Solvang, Solvang, Solvang. Solvang is a town of only 4,200 people that most of us have visited and yet Solvang brings in nothing less than 1.5 million visitors/customers each year!
Solvang not only has a consistent architectural theme but more importantly, it has a charm that is what Santa Ana needs and can have if we all worked together to make this transformation happen. So let me just say, why would you not expect to one day find “The Most Beautiful Place On Earth” next to the happiest?
Jim’s optimism is just what this town needs 🙂
Jim,
Your enthusiasm is refreshing but in order to beautify Santa ana, you will first need to remove most of the miscreants that live there. For it is those savages that trash Santa ana and show no pride in where they live. The lack of pride in your community is evident in santana.
Tell me, how do you plan to solve the city’s fiscal mess? How will you close that enormous budget deficit?
Hector,
For the sake of argument, there being miscreants. Where do you suggest these miscreants be removed to?
Mismanagement of city funds produces the infrastructure blight.
Do you consider these leaders miscreants?
Where do you suggest they be removed to?
Unfortunately, Santa Ana’s city administrator’s, including Mayor Pulido, City Manager Dave Ream and Chief Walters base everything they do on politics, instead of what’s good for the people. I’m sure they’re sitting on a large stack of layoff (pink slip) notices right now, just waiting for Pulido to get elected before springing the real bad news. They don’t want to give certain people the ammunition to blame current city leadership for Santa Ana’s problems. Instead, they let out a little bad news at a time. Mark my words, by the beginning of 2009 the REAL gravity of the problem will surface, at the expense of Santa Ana employees and and citizens.
Great post Jim! Santa Ana needs a leader with your enthusiasm, vision and honesty. The city needs a police chief with the same enthusiasm, vision and honesty, instead of one who’s burnt out and simply collecting a hefty paycheck. The city needs a police chief who leads the department without favoritism toward his small band of blind loyalists, including Sergeant/Executive Inspector Hank Couisine, who receives thousands of dollars every month in overtime pay at taxpayer expense and luxury take-home vehicles with unlimited use and gas paid for by you, the taxpayer. Since the folks in City Hall are aware of this and have failed to take action, the people of Santa Ana need someone like you to bring strong moral character to city government.
LotsOfWastePD…or is it YOUSA?…or is it CHIEFWALTERSKOWSITALL?…or is it CHIEFSBUD? Are you that big of an idiot that you front a PD employee’s name on a public blog? God help us if you hold any rank. The PD is in big trouble if you are in any position of authority with your poor judgment, cowardice, and betrayal. Please…grow a set of big ones and say what you have to say to the persons face. Don’t be a pathetic and sneaky little coward! If it was up to me, I would find out who you are and try you for TREASON. It wouldn’t be hard for me to figure out who you are. Unfortunately, I suspect that I may not like what I discover. PLEASE STOP!
I am pretty sure that there are rules against threatening people on the juice with harm or outting just a heads up! TREASON really is this person telling personal secrets if so why are they secret?
Yeah Ok
Two things…
1. learn to read more carefully. No harm was threatened, but maybe you’re just a real sensitive person.
2. Get your Dictionary out and look up the word “treason.”
TCB
treason -the offense of acting to overthrow one’s government or to harm or kill its sovereign.
2. a violation of allegiance to one’s sovereign or to one’s state.
3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.
And your point is? oh yeah way off base huh! this is a blog whose sensitive?
This is a blog where nobody is forced to post their real name, you are out of line. You do not post under your given name so why should LotsOfWastePD.
Maybe the poster has nothing to do with the PD. Maybe someone told them or a friend of a friend, why do you ASSUME that they are part of the PD. People here post rumors or things they hear all the time. As a matter of fact I heard all about the PD last night you wanna know what I heard? or would that be TREASON? Oh the conspiracy…..
Oh darn it I promised myself I would refrain from superfluous arguments for a while.
Are you goofy or just illiterate? Where in that post did I imply that LotsOfWastePD should post their real name? Where was he or she threatened? TREASON as it applies here is the “betrayal of trust or confidence,” not because it’s true, but because leadership shouldn’t be undercut by disloyal employees. And finally, for reasons I don’t feel you should be privy to, I know a PD employee or former PD employee that posted these comments.
Some items of contention, whether legitimate or not, should be handled internally, not posted on a public blog. Case in point, ignorant or naive individuals like you (Yeah Ok) take matters out of context. For crying out loud, you can’t even read one paragraph, grasp what is being said, and walk away with a little comprehension.
I guess I’m just a little old fashioned and obviously out of my league if the whole idea behind this blog is to go against good moral principals. As you say, “People here post rumors or things they hear all the time. As a matter of fact I heard all about the PD last night you wanna know what I heard?”
Gossip is like sweet candy going down, but it will rot your from the inside out.
“Case in point, ignorant or naive individuals like you (Yeah Ok) take matters out of context. For crying out loud, you can’t even read one paragraph, grasp what is being said, and walk away with a little comprehension.”
I know exactly what it is that I read!
“God help us if you hold any rank. The PD is in big trouble if you are in any position of authority with your poor judgment, cowardice, and betrayal.”
So you either know this person or you don’t. I personally do not care. You should not know who this person is, unless they specifically told you they posted exactly what they posted in those exact words. If not you are just guessing (which I’m not sure you aren’t) and even if you were privy to such information as to who this person is, who cares. Just because you didn’t specifically threaten this person your words read as such. I am not stupid, and you imply you have such high moral principals yet say those words to me? You type words of contempt, intimidation. I am not wrong and your continuing to imply that I’m ignorant and naive just shows me I was right all along. And just because nobody else called you on it doesn’t mean it isn’t so, several commenters here told me to they found it threatening as well.
“Gossip is like sweet candy going down, but it will rot your from the inside out.”
So so true, but it still happens. I was not meaning to imply I had gossip to share, other people besides yourself are privy to information.
Peace!