OC Republican Hysteria! One of the numerous anonymous bloggers at Matt Cunningham’s Republican OCBlog fretted this weekend about the alleged reguvenation of Vietnamese American Democratic activists in Little Saigon. According to the Oct. 6 posting, these people “are gearing up fast and furious to challenge the Republican Party of Orange County’s hold on Little Saigon.” Oh, my! “Their first assault came this past Thursday in a 30-minute radio talk show program at 9:30 p.m. on Little Saigon Radio where the discussion centered around President Bush’s veto of the children health care expansion bill.” Oh, no! “They will be on the air every other Thursday evening.” Christ. “Apparently these Vietnamese Dems criticized the President for denying basic health care to little kids then opened up the telephone line with planted callers who bashed the Republican Party for being a rich, elitist and uncaring organization, compared to the Democratic Party that cares about working families.” Unbelievable. The post goes on to ID “these Viet leftists”: Phu T. Nguyen, Tammy Tran, Khoi Ta, Trung Ta and Phu Do Nguyen.
So? Get Two More Jobs: Reporters Jennifer Delson and Christopher Goffard at the Times tell the sad, incredible tale of Soledad Aviles, a victim in a home finance game and now, though a $9-an-hour glass cutter, facing a $4,800-a-month mortgage or foreclosure. According to the Times:
Aviles says he was not aware that the February 2006 loan application he signed dramatically exaggerated his family's income. The application lists him as the owner of a landscaping business with a $7,400 monthly income. His 27-year-old daughter Marlene, who earns $9 an hour in a noodle factory, appears as the owner of a housecleaning company who makes $5,700 a month. The application lists their yearly income as $157,000, when, according to Aviles, it was really closer to $60,000.
Delson and Goffard tracked the loan to South Bristol Street offices of Century 21 South Coast and Su Casa Mortgage, which are both owned by Saul Velazquez and his brother Carlos. Neither agreed to speak to the Times about Aviles’ situation. They’ve already gotten their cut.
Santa Ana officials and the Fair Housing Council of Orange County are offering free foreclosure prevention workshops.
Build a Casino in Irvine: The Register backs Congressman John Campbell’s legislation that would block the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians from building a casino in their native Orange County for 25 years if their tribe wins federal recognition next month. Campbell has made no secret that he is aiming at this tribe because of rumors its officials might consider building on land at or near the Great Park in Irvine. The Reg boys call Campbell’s idea “reasonable” because “it is wrong for the government to grant gambling monopolies to people based on their ethnic heritage.” But the Republican congressman didn’t propose ending the recognition game. He’s working to block a potential revenue source for Democrat Larry Agran at the cash-hungry, future public park. What’s odd is that the Reg boys usually despise government telling businesses what it can and can’t do. Why not let OC consumers decide if they want a casino here?
CNN-featured investigative reporter R. Scott Moxley has won Journalist of the Year honors at the Los Angeles Press Club; been named Distinguished Journalist of the Year by the LA Society of Professional Journalists; obtained one of the last exclusive prison interviews with Charles Manson disciple Susan Atkins; won inclusion in Jeffrey Toobin’s The Best American Crime Reporting for his coverage of a white supremacist’s senseless murder of a beloved Vietnamese refugee; launched multi-year probes that resulted in the FBI arrests and convictions of the top three ranking members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; and gained praise from New York Times Magazine writers for his “herculean job” exposing entrenched Southern California law enforcement corruption.