You can tell a lot about a city by its support for local libraries. While the City of Santa Ana, which is mired in illiteracy and English fluency issues, has been busy closing libraries, its counterpart to the southeast, Irvine, has been equally busy, apparently, building new libraries. One city boasts the strongest school system in the county – the other is full of schools on the verge of state takeover. One city has to spend a gross amount of its budget on police – the other doesn’t have nearly as much crime to contend with. Santa Ana is covered in graffiti – Irvine is covered in ivy. Get the picture?
Now the Register has disclosed that Irvine is building its third library – and it sounds like a wonderful facility. Memo to Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and soon to be Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Bustamante – you guys need to read the following article and ask yourselves where your priorities lie – you both are guilty of cutting the local library budget to the bone – and you, along with your cohorts Jose Solorio and company, were at the helm when our libraries were closed and our bookmobiles were canceled. Hope you are proud of your “legacy.” Read on:
Library work to start in Irvine
The $6.2 million, 10,000-square-foot branch facility could open in late 2007.
By PEGGY GOETZ
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
IRVINE
Mr. Pedroza,
I honestly don’t undertand how your mind works or the logic you use. You correctly point out some of the many differences between Irvine and Santa Ana, then slam the Santa Ana Council for not having more library services.
Your comparison of Santa Ana and Irvine is 100% accurate..and that’s why Santa Ana has to spend more money on police…and why Santa Ana schools are in the state they are..and why many Santa Ana neighborhoods are covered in graffiti!
If Santa Ana had the same demographics as Irvine, they could use City money for all kinds of wonderful projects. But they don’t. They have to prioritize their spending based on the needs in Santa Ana, not Irvine.
The very population that you defend is the root cause of many problems in Santa Ana and in the SAUSD. *You* have made a strong case for Santa Ana not having the funds to do library and other projects.
Poster 1,
Here’s the problem with your logic – how do you affect change in Santa Ana if you don’t invest in things like libraries that help to solve the problem(s)? You will have to spend more and more on police every year – as wayward children go sideways and end up becoming criminals.
My suggestion is to find the political will now to do what has to be done – more libraries, more parks, more after-school programs, etc. That is the only way we will begin to make long-term improvements.
Is the money there? I think it is a case of adjusting our priorities. I would clean house at city hall and replace the current crop of burned out, overpaid veterans with newer graduates wielding public administration degrees. I would also seek to establish public/private partnerships. Consider that our city leaders do not allow our business community to use our libraries free of charge. Ridiculous! They are stakeholders and should be brought to the table – not pushed away.
We can have more libraries in Santa Ana – but first we need council members and a city administration that will value what libraries do for our residents. I think we are on the way to achieving that now that Pulido has lost his grip on our city council…