As a longtime member of the Anaheim Democrats Club (which some refer to as “the Conscience of the OC Democrat Party”) I’m excited to announce our first event that’s open to ALL – meaning you, Democrat or not, as long as you’re concerned with Anaheim and us not getting ripped off by our own “leaders.”
You see the graphic above – our stellar panel of Jose Moreno, Wally Courtney and Dave Duran will be answering questions including but not confined to:
- What comes next in Anaheim’s dealings with the Angels and their owner Arte Moreno?
- What lease is Arte bound by now – is he paying ANY money to this city?
- Should we take his threats to leave Anaheim seriously?
- What should a future Mayor and Council look for in their dealings with the Angels?
- The Stadium – should we sell or continue to lease?
- And what’s it really worth – with or without its surrounding property?
- Will the team ever be called the Anaheim Angels?
- And what’s next for the People’s Homeless Task Force’s Brown Act suit against the City, and why is it still important?
This will be a Zoom meeting, this Thursday at 6pm, and will be moderated by Anaheim Democrats member Grant Henninger. Facebook event page here… And more important – REGISTER BY CLICKING HERE!
[GAD adds: To make sure that more people read this, this will also be our belated and be-earlied Weekend Open Thread. Act accordingly!]
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fanaheimdemocrats%2Fvideos%2F557918462376189%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0
This sounds like a great event and I hope to participate.
But I’m here just to note that the Orange County’s Second Half of Spring keeps getting better and better (some electoral unpleasantness aside.) Read this from the VOC:
https://voiceofoc.org/2022/06/banning-ranch-is-one-step-closer-to-becoming-preserved-open-space/
Banning Ranch!
I’m of a mind to include the Jan. 6 hearings in the list of June goodness.
Nice list of questions. But, I am VERY concerned that this kind of thing muddies the waters and confuses people. Are any of these men Lawyers? Other than Dr. Moreno, who may have some insight (SOME), but given his self-proclaimed non-involvement in the stadium dealings, I wonder how much will be biased grandstanding.
How can ANY of us, at this point know with any degree of certainty what the Angels management plans to do. It is mere speculation. I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but, this post by an anonymous author (which has NOT worked out so well in the past) and frankly watching some of the language and tactics used by speakers at city council (who’s frustration I agree, but Brian Kaye’s language, Mike Robbins, vitriol just robs from the argument.
I get it, but I think you would do much better to form cognizant argument avoid personal attacks ( There is NO PLACE for mimicking an accent, describing someone’s body etc…….
PLEASE ACT LIKE ADULTS
Ok Mom. 🙂
It’s not anonymous. I posted it. I was gonna post as admin, which I use when I post people’s event announcements. Then I saw “Anaheim Insider” which I hadn’t used in a while and thought that sounded like fun.
And actually I helped put together the event. And thanks for saying “nice list of questions,” that’s my list of questions.
And Bryan Kaye for the record will not be on the panel.
You must start ALL Anaheim insider posts with: “Anaheim Insider here…
What makes you think that speculation — based on nearly ten years of observing the Angels’ management, reading their documents, litigating against them, and doing deep studies on what they can and cannot do — is “mere”?
Listening to our Realtor friend Wally Courtney alone is worth the price (measured in time and effort) of admission. And this goes way beyond that.
P.S.: I am a lawyer.
SACRAMENTO — Senate Bill 361 and Senate Bill 34, authored by Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana), are aimed at addressing the recent Anaheim Stadium deal and preventing future related controversies. Both headed for legislative hearings June 15, and later this month.
Senate Bill 361, introduced by Senator Umberg on June 6, will prohibit an agency from disposing of a parcel of land if it is not in compliance with California’s Surplus Lands Act or SLA. If there is a violation, under SB 361, the California Department of Housing and Community Development will now have authority to require the local entity to rebid the sale. The measure will also require that the agency provide at least 14 days’ notice prior to the convening of a public session for the purpose of ratifying the proposed deal.
Senate Bill SB 34, introduced by the Senator earlier this week, declares that certain contracts would be considered void if they were negotiated in connection to a bribe of a public official.
California’s SLA is a state law that directs local agencies, such as cities, counties and districts, to prioritize the development of low-income housing when selling or leasing their surplus land. Existing law makes local agencies that dispose of land in violation of these provisions, liable for a penalty of 30% of the final sale price of the land sold for a first violation; 50% for any subsequent violation(s).
Recent events in Anaheim have shed light on unforeseen consequences within the SLA. In April of 2021, the California Department of Housing and Community Development sent the City of Anaheim a letter, warning that it could be in violation of the SLA. Despite this notification and the possibility of receiving a $96 million fine, the City of Anaheim continued to push the deal through. To accommodate the fine, city officials planned to simply transfer the $96 million from the $123 million for affordable housing that was already included within the stadium land deal – thereby negating the intended effects of the SLA’s fine enforcement mechanism.
To further complicate this deal, in May of 2022, the mayor of Anaheim, Harry Sidhu, announced he would be stepping down from public office, having been accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigations of solicitation, bribery and obstruction of justice. The majority of the accusations have been centered on the city’s plan to sell public land to the Anaheim Angels. Investigators have alleged that the Mayor of Anaheim hoped to solicit $1 million or more in campaign contributions from the team in exchange for assistance in the deal.
“Media and local officials have consistently glossed over the fact that this stadium deal has, from the very beginning, attempted to skirt state law, keep officials and the public in the dark, and shortchange the residents of Anaheim by not reaping the full potential value of this property,” said Senator Umberg. “It is painful to watch the trust of the public be so egregiously eroded,” continued the Senator. “SB 361 and SB 34 are just the beginning steps needed to restore the trust of the residents of Anaheim and Orange County.”
SB 361 was heard June 15 at 1:30pm in the Assembly Committee on Local Government and SB 34 will be heard in the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review in the coming weeks.
This probably goes beyond “Fair Use,” Elaine. What’s the source, so I can find out whether they object?
It sounds like an Umberg press release. Vicky, do you work for the Senator?
The event just ended and it was great. I didn’t see anyone called Vicky Mendoza though.
Did you see anyone named Elaine?
More Sacramento crap.
Hey Greg, you were right a few weeks ago
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/06/16/angels-owner-asks-anaheim-for-5-million-to-cover-costs-of-defunct-stadium-sale/
Where was that piece where you predicted this? It introduced that Steve White nuclear option… https://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2022/05/the-angels-deal-was-dead-before-they-killed-it-now-for-the-stake-in-its-heart/
The Sustainable Communities Act! Mr. Fabela are you out there? Are you really on our side?
Yeah, I knew that there was a provision like this in there, but I couldn’t recall the location or the price tag.
I would like to think that Mr. Fabela is on the side of the people rather than the Council majority — but I don’t know it to be true. I tried to tap him on the head with a clue stick weeks ago with the vampire illustration post; maybe he needs a harder tap.
We also need a “Ban Arte Moreno from MLB” movement.
Or maybe it should just be called “MLB”: MORENO, LEAVE BASEBALL!
So Arte wants to get paid for…what? I sure hope he sues. Depositions. And he will lose, to boot.
Hmm. Five mil won’t even get a utility infielder for a season.
It’s the principle at stake! Other people/entities have money that Arte could have, therefore it’s his moral imperative to snag it.
If we have an attorney that works for us. What does it take for Fabela to make that dramatic transition?
https://voiceofoc.org/2022/06/oc-board-of-education-member-beckie-gomez-resigns-amid-lawsuit%EF%BF%BC/
Hey, Tardif — are you going to sue Tim Shaw for getting back onto the Board of Education while still on the Council?
There is no basis for anyone to sue. Tim Shaw resigned as a member of the La Habra City Council Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 before he was reappointed to the OCBE.
Correction acknowledged. I saw a recent web page indicating that he was still on the Council, but upon checking I see that you’re correct that he is now off of it.
Actually Tim was replaced by a good guy, old friend of mine, Daren Nigsarian! He used to send me La Habra chismes back in the day.
On last night’s resignation of Beckie Gomez from the OC Board of Education, I find myself in agreement with Melahat’s “Drunk Blogger”, who managed to post these words last night:
“This is a direct outcome of lawsuits agins [sic] County BoE trustee Tim Show [sic] who resigned, was re-appoint [sic] and then won re-election; [sic] Our county has now last a solid blue voice against charter schools and things that are solid for public education. Shame on those who forced this resignation on this body — and I’m looking at you Lee Find [sic] and Michael Sean Wright for your douchebaggery on Tim Shaw than [sic] made Republicans retaliate.” – the whole of Dan’s writing on the piece.
As you can see, Dan then posted this under the categories “Beckie Gomex” [sic], “Lee Find” [sic], and Micahel [sic] Sean Wrifght. [sic]. Kudos to Dan for spelling “douchebaggery” right, I guess that word is second nature!
A commenter named “Fed Up” quickly and correctly added: “You realize Paulette Chaffee put Sean Wright up to this… she sacrificed Beckie for a chance to win that board seat and then ducked it up. The Chaffees and OC Dems should be ashamed on their endorsement and support.”
This-all demonstrates a few things we mostly already knew; that the Chaffees are bad news wherever they crop up, that the DPOC has terrible judgment at least as often as they don’t, and that Chmeliewski is always drunk even when he’s right.
It just got about nine times harder to EVER change that nightmare Board.
I feel nothing but sympathy for Beckie Gomez. Of the two positions, retaining the seat in Orange was more important. We can’t ask the same few people to fill too many roles.
As for Chumley — maybe he just got a bad batch of his “mouthwash.”
That’s not fair. ChemLew was blogging at the same time he was struggling with that first (and last) chin up at boot camp.
Looking at the errors again, I can believe that “Find” for “Fink” might be because the “K” key is only five away from the “D” key — but “Gomex” and “Wrifght” seem likely to be Autocorrect errors….
Just spit-balling here … Suppose the Angels move to Long Beach – Angel Stadium then becomes virtually worthless. What is the bare land worth? Alternatively, suppose the City of Anaheim wants to attract a major sports franchise to the City – they would have to build a new stadium. That would cost $2 billion at least .. and no 466 affordable housing units or major development and thousands of new jobs would be in such a deal. In their arrogance, both Arte and the City did a terrible job of marketing the deal to the public.
The deal was a stinker – a massive gift of public funds. Good luck marketing a Yugo.
Zenger – Thanks for your response and “in depth analysis” of my comments. ha
When you’re in a shallow stream you don’t spend a lot of time worrying about getting in too deep.
We could have Oakland moving here as quickly as it opened up. But a parcel this large at the intersection of three freeways would go for massive amounts of money. If you saw the Zoom meeting, I think that it was Wally Courtney who said at least a billion, and maybe two.
MLB would not allow 2 AL teams within 30 miles of each other.
LA and OC combined are about 13.3 million people. That’s enough of a fan base to support three teams.
So much speculation surrounding this deal. It’s as if some defense attorney is purposely muddling the waters.
Who (other than the “people” of Anaheim stands to gain with the cancelation of the sale.
I will ask a serious question here: If (former) Mayor Sidhu remains un-indicted. Is his resignation sufficient? Does the answer change if political aspirations are satisfied (Dr. Moreno as interm Mayor and Ashley Aitken elected in November) do your opinions change?
I am not trying to sound argumentative, rather, I can’t help but notice Anaheim Live being touted in the OCR. And blurbs about Disney’s third gate.
I can’t help but wonder if Sidhu is a pawn. And a bunch of you bought it.
REMEMBER: At the end of the game, the kings and the pawns go back in the same box.
Sidhu is not a pawn. More like a rook.
Sidhu was a pawn in that he is too dumb to tie his clownshoelaces.
Kind of like selling the Angels as an LA team. Moreno has no shame. The last time the Halos were in LA. Irvine wasn’t a city and UCI enrolled its first graduating class. C’mon man.
For our own protection of course !
So the Pfizer -FDA revolving door isn’t the only one -What could go wrong. huh ?
We’ll see what happens when all of the FBI agents are gone.