Subject: Michelle Martinez

• Have Money, Will Vote: How Carlos Bustamante Pays Back Donors

  Part dos of 3... Every day, we drive by City Place, the unfinished development across the street from MainPlace Mall with cool live/work lofts and horrid restaurants (seriously: McCormick & Schmidt's and Corner Bakery as the anchor tenants??? Can't wait 'til Mother's Market opens to save us from that crap). And every day, we're reminded that SanTana councilmembers stricken with conflict-of-influenza sometimes do learn. Consider Claudia Alvarez. Activists were furious with Claudia in 2004 aft

  January 8, 2008

• Santa Ana Officials Redraw Renaissance Plan Boundaries Again

  Today, Los Angeles Times SanTana reporter Jennifer Delson delivers a bombshell of a story on the city's Renaissance Plan: not only did city officials redraw the Renaissance Plan boundaries to omit the family businesses of councilmember Vince Sarmiento and Mayor Papi Pulido (as we reported last month), but they're planning to do it yet again to allow councilmember Michelle Martinez and planning commissioner Victoria Bentacourt to vote on the matter. Martinez is claiming SanTana officials are usin

  January 20, 2008

• Obama OC Headquarters Wrapping Up With Hope, Uncertainty

  If you need any more proof that the Barack Obama campaign desperately sought the Latino vote, one needs no more proof than the Orange County headquarters of Barack Obama, situated on Broadway across the street from the Santora Arts Complex in SanTana. Plastered on the window are various Obama articles that appeared in the local Spanish-language rags--Farándula USA, Miniondas, but strangely not La Opinión's endorsement--and a couple of Sí Se Puede signs. Great effort--but someone forgot to inc

  February 5, 2008

• Hispanic Bar Association Hijinks!

  With apologies to Orange County Register sports genius Randy Youngman, notes, quotes and observations from yesterday's Orange County Hispanic Bar Association annual fundraising dinner: *Greeting the well-dressed, well-coiffed crowd as they drove toward the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel were about eight anti-Mexican whackjobs--and we don't add the "anti-illegal immigrant" qualifier like other journalists because they told more than one cute attorney of Mexican descent to "go home." Spotted was

  March 2, 2008

• Santa Ana's Grand Choo-Choo Conspiracy Continues

  Back in January, I theorized out loud about a SanTana scandal of Chinatown-esque proportions: the introduction of a light-rail system most likely involving the Cordoba Corporation, whose CEO sits alongside SanTana conflict-of-influenza-afflicted councilmember Carlos Bustamante on the board of the Santa Ana Business Bank. Last month, SanTana announced they would join Garden Grove in asking the Orange County Transportation Authority for about $300 million to make their choo-choo dreams a reality.

  April 15, 2008

• First OC Book Signing for Orange County: A Personal History Mucho Success

  With apologies to Orange County Register sports genius Randy Youngman, notes, quotes and observations from my Sept. 18 book signing at the Yost Theater for my new book, Orange County: A Personal History: *About 500 people showed up to hear my lecture! About 500! I add the qualifier because the Yost's bottom shell seats 500--there were empty seats, but not many, and there were also a lot of people standing in the lobby or in the aisles. Gracias to everyone who attended; to everyone else, you mis

  September 20, 2008

• This is Why the Democratic Party in Orange County is Largely a Joke

  Last year, I gave a speech for some section of the Democratic Party of Orange County--I can't remember if it was the Foundation, Young Dems, or something, but it was at the Hacienda in SanTana. It wasn't well-received if I remember correctly through the haze of Maker's, mostly because I urged the younger Dems in the audience to not follow in the footsteps of their corrupt predecessors--Robert Battin, a couple of other supervisors, and the like (I'll never forget OC Dem boss Frank Barbaro's long

  September 29, 2008

• SanTana is Finally Mexico Gracias to Don Papi Pulido

  October 13, 2008

• Live from the Banana Republic...

  November 4, 2008

• Dems Bringing Sexy Back?

  *Update: They just announced Papi Pulido beat out Michelle Martinez for the SanTana mayoral seat. Not much cheering. Everyone's busy bumping and grinding. *Update 2: A mean trick played by accident on congressional candidate Steve Young led him and his campaign team to believe, for a brief, exultant moment, that he'd beat incumbent John Campbell. A television blip around 10:30 p.m. flashed Young and Campbell's numbers in reverse. Champagne was popped and victory cheers were unleashed but it wa

  November 4, 2008

• Jerry, Be Wary

  January 31, 2008

• Three Local Elections Worth Watching. Call It Morbid Fascination

  October 30, 2008

• Super Blogalicious

  Seen and Heard on Super Tuesday

  February 7, 2008

• Santa Ana City Council to Put Fix in on Trolley Project Tonight

  If only this saga came with Faye Dunaway--instead, we have to settle for Michelle Martinez...It's been almost to the year since I last wrote about how the SanTana City Council would most likely award a light-rail contract to Cordoba Corporation, a company whose president George Pla sits on the SanTana Business Bank alongside councilmember Busty Bustamante. I theorized a scam of Chinatown-esque proportions, in which Busty and Don Papi Pulido would maneuver to get Cordoba the contract instead of m

  April 20, 2009

• (UPDATED) Santa Ana's Grand Choo Choo Conspiracy Reaches End Game

  At least John Huston was a classy villain...​(*Updated, with new info on the bottom. Post originally published August 1...)At the end of the day yesterday--a Friday-- whoever's in charge of compiling the agenda for the SanTana City Council slipped the following item into the consent calendar: GO LOCAL PROGRAM STEP 2 TECHNICAL ANALYSIS - Execute an agreement with Cordoba Corporation in the amount of $4,845,026."Go Local" means the choo-choo dream SanTana Mayor Don Papi Pulido has pushed for

  August 4, 2009