Did Diaz have it coming? The OCDA cleared the cop who shot him

From the New Anaheim blog

The Orange County District Attorney released a letter today clearing Anaheim police officer Nick Bennallack, who shot and killed a gang member, Manuel Diaz last summer – an event that triggered riots in the shadow of Disneyland.

The finding by the DA set off a firestorm of complaints on news and social media – mainly asserting that there was no way the DA was going to find Bennallack guilty.

But let’s take a step back here for a moment.  Why would a cop go to all the trouble of becoming a cop just to blow his career by shooting some unarmed gang banger in the back?  Remember that most cops join the police force for the pay and benefits, and because they can be cops without having a college degree.  And cops get to retire young, with huge pensions. So why blow all of that over some pelon?

Gene Autry Way – Curt Pringle’s Folly

Rush Hour on Gene Autry Way

From the OC Politics Blog

About five years ago when he was the Mayor of Anaheim, Curt Pringle dreamed of a regional transportation center for his city — a place they named ARTIC which would be the Orange County station for the equally dreamy California High-Speed Rail system which would be zipping through town on its way to San Diego, or charging northward to LA’s Union Station (over, under or through some of the densest urban residential housing in California) and onto San Francisco and Sacramento.

The Mayor-for-hire, as he was known at Friends for Fullerton Future, or Master of the Universe as he was tagged last year at the union-funded Voice of OC, didn’t stop with just a $184 million train station that would partly be paid for by OCTA’s Measure M where Board Member Pringle sat for years.  From concocted ridership projections, he fantasized that Disney patrons would be coming to ARTIC by the millions, but still needed to be transported to the Mouse’s cash registers Main Gate, miles away from the bullet train, and on the wrong side of the 5 Freeway.  Since Walt Disney already had a world-famous one, Pringle announced in 2007 that he needed a MONORAIL for the Disney visitors.  From his January State-of-the-City speech:

The O.C. Register refuses to run an ad slamming Anaheim Council Members

From the OC Politics Blog

The Orange County Register abruptly altered its advertising policy, barring ads that challenge politicians by name, after two Anaheim city councilwomen complained to the newspaper’s new owners about ads from a local activist that criticized their support of a controversial hotel subsidy, according to the Voice of OC.

The Voice of OC reported that “The ads came from Jason Young, a City Hall blogger who opposes the council majority, which is heavily backed by Disney and other influential local business interests. In December, the Register ran an ad submitted by Young in its Anaheim weekly publications asserting that Councilwomen Kris Murray and Gail Eastman violated state law when they approved a $158-million subsidy for local hoteliers.”

New documentary debuts about Anaheim police brutality near Disneyland

If there is one city in the world where you might expect to find happiness, it is Anaheim, California. It is the home of Disneyland, the second most popular amusement park in the world. From Anaheim Disney has for decades been selling an image of phantasy to millions of visitors every year. But over the summer, anger that had been growing in communities living in the shadows of this multi-billion dollar tourist industry began spiralling out of control.

Court stops Anaheim hotel tax giveaway, but not for long…

Jordan Brandman and Disneyland’s President

As we reported earlier today, a split vote on a tax subsidy worth up to $158 million to build two luxury hotels near Disneyland has been voided, leaving the future of the development plans in doubt. Orange County Superior Court Judge Steven Perk ruled Monday that the City Council’s 3-2 vote last January approving the tax subsidy was a violation of California’s open-meeting law, known as the Brown Act, according to the O.C. Register.  Click here to read the Save Anaheim blog’s take on this.

I doubt the Anaheim City Council will appeal this ruling.  Instead they will bring it back for a new vote and hotel developer Bill O’Connell will get his money – rather the public’s money.  The key vote will be new Council Member Jordan Brandman, who was bought and sold by the resort hotels awhile ago.  He will predictably vote to give away the money again – and he will instantly become the most unpopular politician in Anaheim.

Residents swindled into a bad streetcar deal by the City of Anaheim and Disney

The Great Streetcar Incident of 2012

By Cynthia Ward, Think for Yourself OC blog

The Anaheim Resort’s millions of guests drive our local economy, but those visitors also create significant traffic congestion. Over the objections of Mayor Tom Tait, the Anaheim City Council approved a $318,000,000.00 publicly-funded streetcar system to transport Resort visitors and employees. Although Disney uses buses almost exclusively at their Florida property, and the price tag of $53,000,000.00 made buses comparatively more affordable, enhanced bus service was astonishingly dismissed as undesirable-read “not sexy enough.”

A recent study by transportation expert Randall O’Toole, debunks the arguments used by City Council, and a staff promoting their own obvious agenda.

Streetcars are more expensive to purchase and operate than buses. Their fixed track and power systems are costly and disruptive to existing traffic, and especially problematic for pedestrians. Buses offer greater flexibility, enabling the addition of vehicles for peak hours-critical to address the unique traffic patterns of Anaheim, with crunch time not driven by conventional issues like rush hour so much as variable influences like closing time at Disneyland, last innings at the Stadium, or events at the Honda Center. Buses are easily removed or replaced for service, while a disabled streetcar renders the system unusable, and leaving traffic clogged around a stalled streetcar.

Click here to read the rest of this article.

In related news – Trains Still Can Make Sense — ARTIC Does Not

Mitt Romney caught hanging out at Disneyland

Photo courtesy of Twitter

Failed Presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited Disneyland yesterday and was caught in pictures that ended up on a number of Twitter feeds. 

Usually winners go to Disneyland but Romney not only lost – he has since been roundly criticized by many members of his own party, for his ongoing ridiculous comments.

Disney caught spending almost $200K on Anaheim Council candidates

Disney’s Hidden Hand in the Anaheim City Council Race

By: The Voice of OC

When Anaheim City Council candidate Steve Chavez Lodge told a television reporter last month that he had only received the maximum allowable $1,800 campaign contribution from the Disneyland Resort — perhaps the city’s most influential political player — the comment was accurate.

But it wasn’t the whole truth.