Don Palabraz

Next Tuesday, after much speculation, the divisive $158 million GardenWalk hotel subsidy will return before the Anaheim city council for a vote. The agenda for the meeting spells out as much as there will be “discussion and action” on a resolution for the economic assistance agreements (aka developer welfare!) so that the City Manager can potentially “execute and administer” them. Last year, the council voted 3-2 to approve the massive subsidy on January 24, 2012 only to have an Orange County Superior Court judge rule it void in response to a lawsuit filed alleging, among other things, that the Brown Act had been violated. This time around, the language is clear and the public is on notice. What that means is that there is sure to be one hell of a contentious council meeting next week! Count on hours of lengthy public comments!

Read more on my latest OC Weekly Navel Gazing Blog post:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2013/05/anaheim_city_council_to_vote_o.php

Dozens of parents marched down Sunkist Street early this morning in front of Anaheim’s Benito Juarez Elementary School. They were angered that current principal Roberto Baeza is being transferred out at the end of the year in a move made by Linda Wagner, the brand-spanking new Superintendent of the Anaheim City School District (ACSD). The parents carried protest signs and leaflets with a photo of Wagner crossed out saying “Shame on You” as they were mostly greeted by honking horns from cars passing by. “I have seen the difference in the principals,” says Jesus Ramirez, a father of three, including a 6th grader at Juarez. “Dr. Baeza has been the best principal that this school has had. We need him to stay here.” Other parents echoed similar sentiments before a meeting with Wagner began at the school library. “I have two children in the dual immersion program,” Julieta Olivares tells the Weekly in Spanish. “I believe it isn’t just that Wagner made a decision so soon.”

Read more about the protest and the meeting on my latest OC Weekly Navel Gazing Blog post:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2013/05/linda_wagner_anaheim_city.php

The arrival of La Santa Cecilia’s “Treinta Dias” has been years in the making. The Los Angeles-based band created a long-standing buzz conquering audiences in its hometown and venues beyond with an infectious blend of Latin American music genres. From the early DIY days of hand painted album covers for their first EP to the present moment signing with Universal Music Latin Entertainment, there’s no more deserving band for this moment than La Santa Cecilia. And now that it has arrived, they show themselves ready by delivering a collection of eight searing songs!

Read the review on my latest LatinoLA article / http://latinola.com/story.php?story=11860

From Presente.org:

“Today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on “border triggers” as part of immigration reform show how completely out-of-touch politicians in Washington are with voters and with immigration reality,” said Arturo Carmona, Executive Director of Presente.org. “These “border triggers” will kill immigration reform. Tying citizenship for 11 million people to vague, untried and unnecessary policies like “border triggers” is not what the overwhelming majority of Latino voters asked for. We asked for real citizenship and real reform, not more multi-billion dollar fences, more surveillance, new national ID cards for all citizens and other unnecessary things for a border that the FBI tells us year in and year out is safe. We need a clear path to citizenship, not a clear path to enrich military-industrial and prison companies who give campaign money to politicians like Sen. Chuck Schumer.”

The Anaheim City School District (ACSD) finally selected a new superintendent after an interim merry-go-round, but the honeymoon is already over for some parents. Linda Wagner, who only started her new position last month, has already made a move to transfer Benito Juarez Elementary School principal Roberto Baeza, angering parents to the point of even organizing a protest march set for Friday morning! Wagner was appointed by the ACSD in early March by a unanimous vote, coming from a stint as superintendent at Monrovia Unified School District. Wagner brings to Anaheim with her a background loaded with experience in bilingual education. Sounds good for a school district with a heavily Mexi student body and a lot of English learners, ¿que no? So what’s the protest all about?

Read more on my latest OC Weekly Navel Gazing Blog post:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2013/05/benito_juarez_anaheim.php