Tom Tait

Anaheim's Citizens Advisory Committee Angers Curt Pringle By Doing the Right Thing!

Late last week, Anaheim's 11-member citizens advisory committee (CAC) on district elections wrapped up its final meeting, and its draft report of recommendations set to be delivered to the city council by the end of this month will suggest that the issue be put before the vote. When the previous A ... More >>

Anaheim City Council to Vote on $158 Million GardenWalk Hotel Giveaway Tuesday!

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 develope ... More >>

Anaheim Parents to Protest Over Transfer of Benito Juarez Elementary Principal

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 ... More >>

Anaheim Community Forum Focuses on the Aftermath of Social Unrest

As the one-year anniversary of the officer-involved killingof 25-year-old Manuel Diaz in July approaches, Anaheimers filed into St. Anthony Claret Catholic Church last night to see what, if anything, has changed in the city. The East Street Community Renewal Initiative (ESCRI)--a project of former c ... More >>

[W/VIDEO] Tom Tait, Anaheim Mayor, Rips Into Council-Pendeja Kris Murray's Laughable OC Register Editorial at Council Meeting!

Anaheim city council meetings have no shortage of circus theatrics. Last evening, the avenue wasn't blowhards during public comment, though, but the dais itself! Mayor Tom Tait took a moment toward the end of the meeting to bash last week's Orange County Register op-ed piece concerning district elec ... More >>

Anaheim's Citizens Advisory Committee Recommends Districts Be Put on the Ballot

There were more empty seats and less acrimony inside the Council Chambers of Anaheim City Hall last Thursday evening. Long the scene of political turmoil over the course of last year during council meetings, the mood was lighter as the location played host for the second-to-last gathering of the cit ... More >>

Bob Wingenroth, Anaheim City Manager, Announces Resignation

Man, it seems like everybody's packing up and hightailing it out of Toontown these days! Anaheim City Manager Bob Wingenroth is the latest as he announced his sudden resignation not even a year officially into his tenure. In the past few months, City Attorney Cristina Talley, Police Chief John Welte ... More >>

OC Register's Exposé of Increasing Anaheim PD Ineptitude Further Indictment of City's Latino "Leaders"

Times are definitely tough for the Anaheim Police Department when even the Orange County Register is raising critical questions! In a fine article by Keegan Kyle that ran in yesterday's paper but that you can't read online because of that whole paywall thing, the city's police department is increasi ... More >>

John Welter, Controversial Anaheim Police Chief, Retires

Another non-April Fool's announcement that begged a rubbing of the eyes: Anaheim Police Chief John Welter announced his retirement today. His 42-year career in law enforcement will come to an end effective May 16, 2013. Before taking over for Chief Roger Baker in Anaheim nine years ago, Welter spent ... More >>

Manuel Diaz Shooting: Case Closed?

Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait met with representatives from the United States Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation last summer regarding the incidents of July 21, 2012. Now that the Orange County District Attorney's office has completed and released its investigative letter clearing An ... More >>

Demonstration Mark One-Year Anniversary of Martin Hernandez's Killing by Anaheim Police

The embers of Anaheim's unrest glowed bright-red long before last year's simmering summer boiled over. On March 6, 2012, the alley near the intersection of Wakefield and Haster became a turning point in the city's history as 21-year old Martin Angel Hernandez was shot and killed by Anaheim police of ... More >>

[W/AUDIO] Anaheim Police Association Robocall Attacks Mayor Tait Ahead of Council Meeting

Ahead of tonight's city council meeting, the Anaheim Police Association sent out robocalls attacking Mayor Tom Tait by saying he's supportive of "policies and procedures that will lead to more violence against police and less public safety." The voice making the accusations is that of APA President ... More >>

OC Superior Court Judge Voids $158 Million Subsidy for Anaheim GardenWalk Hotels!

In response to a lawsuit filed against the city of Anaheim and hoteliers, Judge Steven Perk voided an ultra-controversial $158 million GardenWalk hotel subsidization project in Orange County Superior Court today citing a violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act. The tax giveaway earlier this year enraged ... More >>

Anaheim Voters Prove to be Loyal Pendejos in City Council Election

The eyes of the world were once fixated for a brief moment on Anaheim, the supposed "Happiest Place on Earth," as the facade was torn apart by controversial officer-involved shootings and days of social unrest erupting in its Latino communities this summer. With the attention of the national and int ... More >>

Protest to be Held Outside OC District Attorney's Office Over OC's Killer Cops

The focus of controversial officer-involved shootings in Anaheim will turn to the Santa Ana office of the Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckus tomorrow morning. Family members who have lost loved ones will hold a demonstration at 9 a.m. asking supporters to join in the effort."We've been ... More >>

Gail Eastman, Anaheim Councilwoman, Credits "God's Hands" With Creating Anaheim Riots So Mayor's Agenda Could be Defeated

As I said in my essay on Anaheim's Troubles this summer, I've long stayed away from city politics to protect friends and family who work at City Hall from vindictive politicos. Well, thank God city politics are so rotten that they deserve my attention, especially the biddy councilwoman named Gail Ea ... More >>

Anaheim's 'Outside Agitators'?

The revolution will have to start without the residents at the riots' epicenter

Anaheim City Council Didn't Approve Ward Elections Last Night--And That's a Good Thing

Click here for our Anaheim police shooting and subsequent desmadre archivesI'm far away from my beloved Anaheim right now, in the salt mines working on...something...but I couldn't help but to check in on the Kabuki theater that was last night's city council meeting held at my alma mater, Anaheim Hi ... More >>

Disneyland Resort Supports District Elections in Anaheim, So Long as They Have Their Say

Click here for our Anaheim police shooting archivesAhead of today's special council meeting at Anaheim High School's Cook Auditorium, the Disneyland Resort has backed the scrapping of at-large elections in the city in favor of a new district system, but not without throwing its dos centavos in as to ... More >>

Anaheim's Tragic Kingdom

Two officer-involved killings ignite the city's long, hot summer that has been years in the making

Theresa Smith, Mother of Caesar Cruz Shot by Anaheim Police in 2009, Speaks Out About Riots

Theresa Smith has been peacefully demonstrating outside of the Anaheim Police Department ever since her son, 35-year-old father of five Caesar Cruz, was shot by Anaheim Police on Dec. 11, 2009. Since the weekend, the city has seen protests and civil unrest as residents have taken to the streets ... More >>

Presente, National Latino Political Advocacy Group, Demands Full State Attorney General Investigation of Anaheim Police Department

The disturbing images of police repression from Saturday's standoff in Anaheim following the police killing of Manuel Diaz have gone viral, making international headlines. After a weekend of fatal officer-involved shootings and days of social unrest in the city, the national Latino political organiz ... More >>

ACLU's Lawsuit Against Anaheim for Voter Disenfranchisment Against Mexis is Laughable, Ahistorical, and Plain Pendejo

As promised, the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) held a press conference outside Anaheim City Hall yesterday announcing they were going to sue Anaheim to create council wards in the idea that such a ploy would result in a fairer political representation of th ... More >>

Anaheim City Council Trio Extends $44 Million Subsidy for Another Hotel Developer

Another vote on a hotel subsidy in the Anaheim resort area came before the council yesterday evening, only this time, concerned residents were ready. Dissenting voices took to the podium arguing against the terms of a two-year extension for a planned nine-story, 252-room hotel near Disneyland. After ... More >>

What We Learned, April 14-20

It's our weekly look back at the Weekly's week that was, with taglines indicating what this taught us.APRIL 14: Ron Thomas, the father of Kelly Thomas, the young man beaten to death by Fullerton cops in July 2011, participates in the Social Justice Summit at Cal State Fullerton. His topic is not ven ... More >>

Anaheim Councilwoman Lorri Galloway Stripped of 'Mayor Pro Tem' Title in Latest GardenWalk Hotel Spat

Of all the concerns and issues of importance affecting Anaheim -- like transparency, officer-involved shootings, violent crime, poverty -- its latest city council meeting yesterday evening fixated around a motion to strip councilwoman Lorri Galloway of her 'Mayor Pro Tem' title. Seriously? Seri ... More >>

[UPDATED w/ Lawsuit Announced] Opponents of Anaheim Hotel Bed-Tax Giveaway Lawyer Up, Threaten Lawsuit

​UPDATE FEB 29 12:31 P.M.: The clock ticked past the Friday afternoon deadline last week given by Anaheim community leaders who vowed to legally challenge the $158 million dollar tax giveaway GardenWalk hotel project. An invitation to city officials and one of the hoteliers to sit down at the tab ... More >>

Anaheim Hotel Tax Giveaway Dominates Town Hall Forum

​Anaheim residents filed into an auditorium at St. Anthony Claret Catholic Church last night for a KABC-TV Channel 7 town hall. The space in the heavily Latino neighborhood is usually situated for bingo nights, but a majority of the capacity crowd attended in order to express anger for a city coun ... More >>

Anaheim GardenWalk Tax Breaks Speak of a Tale of Two Cities

​Ahead of yesterday's Anaheim city council meeting, a mailer to city residents from the Orange County Employees Association and numerous news reports on recently approved tax incentives for two future GardenWalk-area hotels made sure for a packed house. Mayor Tom Tait had an idea what would domin ... More >>

3 Council Colleagues Blow Off Special Meeting to Probe $160 mil Giveaway to Hotel Developer

​As expected, Anaheim City Council members Kris Murray, Gail Eastman and Harry Sidhu failed to show up to last night's special meeting regarding their votes last week approving nearly $160 million in bed-tax subsidies to the developer of two Disney Resort-area hotels.About 75 residents and communi ... More >>

[UPDATED with No Quorum?] Occupy-Type Protest Planned Tonight Over $158 Million "Bailout" for Anaheim Hotels

​UPDATE, JAN. 31, 10:58 A.M.: What if you threw an Occupy-type protest over $158 million in taxpayer handouts being given to a hotel developer and no one showed up to hear it? That could become a reality tonight should three Anaheim City Council members who last week approved tax subsidies to the ... More >>

Little Arabia Grows Up

Can one of the country's largest Middle Eastern neighborhoods patch up its rivalries to become OC's next famous ethnic enclave?

William Denis Fitzgerald, Gadfly Suing Board of Supervisors for Limiting Speech, and His Weekly Past

​The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California has filed a federal lawsuit in Santa Ana against the Orange County Board of Supervisors on behalf of an Anaheim gadfly who periodically turns up in OC Weekly.Based on the struggles of William Denis Fitzgerald to speak at public me ... More >>

Elephant on Ground Near Boxcar Brings Rashomon Explanations from Ringling Bros. and PETA

​People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claims that a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus elephant collapsed while being loaded into a rail boxcar in Anaheim following Sunday night's finale at the Honda Center.Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait has been sent a letter from PETA "urging h ... More >>

[UPDATED with Team Staying Put a Year:] Sacramento Kings in Serious Talks to Move to Anaheim

​UPDATE, MAY 2, 1:10 P.M.: We just had a royal wedding. Now comes a Royals funeral.After months of negotiations, seemingly done deals and obviously un-done deals, the NBA's Kings are staying in Sacramento at least one more season, dashing hopes of regular season home games by the renamed Anaheim R ... More >>

[UPDATED with Cow Town Checkmating Toontown?:] Sacramento Kings in Serious Talks to Move to Anaheim

​UPDATE, APRIL 26, 2:41 P.M.: After a weekend of reports claiming its unlikely the Sacramento Kings will move to Anaheim before next season--if ever--Anaheim officials expressed confidence that their proposal remains the best one on the table for the NBA franchise.ESPN, Sports Illustrated and the ... More >>

[UPDATED: Bonds OK'd, Sacto Talks Suit, I'm an 'Insidious Little Creep'] Sacramento Kings In Serious Talks to Move to Anaheim

​UPDATE, MARCH 30, 8:22 A.M.: The Anaheim City Council last night unanimously approved the $75 million bond-lease deal to put the NBA's Kings in the Honda Center. Meanwhile, the Sacramento City Council has moved beyond grief to the anger stage: Cap city leaders last nght discu ... More >>

[UPDATED VENUE REVEALS NAME] Grove of Anaheim Reveals New Name on Monday

​Ryan Cox/OC WeeklyThe new Grove of Anaheim​UPDATE, JAN. 24, NOON: The Grove of Anaheim has been renamed "City National Grove of Anaheim." Ironically, the new partnership is with the City National Bank. Fitting name, right? Check out a video of the ceremony and more photos of the event after the ... More >>

AAA Electra 99 Hosting Mayoral Debate?!

[Mental Notes] Plus, Free Moral Agents going on tour, Mike Vallely produces a music/skate fest

Punk Art Space AAA Electra 99 to Host Anaheim Mayoral Debate Before Shutting Down

From left: Tom Tait, AAA Electra flier from MySpace, Shirley McCracken​Richard Johnson, owner of the decade-old gallery/performance venue AAA Electra 99 in Anaheim, understands the ridiculousness of the idea that he'd host a debate between two button-up Republican candidates for elected office. " ... More >>

Tom Tait, Whitest Man in Orange County, Gets Black Chamber of Commerce Award Tonight

​The whitest man in Orange County is scooping up an award this evening from the Orange County Black Chamber of Commerce.Tom Tait, the former Anaheim City Council member who is running in November to re-join the panel, will receive the Michael R. Jones Business Impact Award, which recognizes in ... More >>

Anaheim Mayoral Candidates Tom Tait and Denis Fitzgerald Square Off in Court Today

​Termed-out Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle has hand picked his successor: engineering company president and former city councilman Tom Tait.But three months before Election Day, Tait is battling one of his two challengers not in the voting booth but the courthouse.

The Myth of St. Curt

Mayor Pringle wasnt a racist then, and he aint Cesar Chavez now

Here to Piss You Off

AAA Electra 99 gallery wins its battle to stay in Anaheim

Show Us Your Scars!

Anaheim cops discover long-ignored law, enforce it

Fighting Cox

Did a Register reporter come to the congressmans aid in a controversy over Feinstein?

October-December

Show Stopper

It's two, two, two weeks in one as Clockwork plays catch-up after the hiatus brought on by last week's boffo Best of OC issue.