Yesterday, the ersatz spokesman/leader of the campaign to recall Mayor Harry Sidhu admitted the effort is a failure.  In a post on his Orange Juice Blog, Vern Nelson confessed “there was no way we could collect 17,000 signatures to recall the corrupt Mayor Sidhu by the deadline this weekend.” Nelson blamed the campaign’s failure on the “severity of the [COVID-19] ...

We have just come through a test — and triumph — of our local democracy. As coronavirus challenged voting this year, Orange County’s democracy emerged stronger, with a smooth election and nearly 90% turnout, the highest in half a century. In Anaheim, Orange County’s largest and most prominent city, voters sent a clear message of support for our city’s ongoing ...

{Editor: this op-ed originally appeared in the OC Register on September 18, 2020] After saving lives, the most critical part of any crisis is recovery. We have made great progress slowing the spread of coronavirus in Anaheim, Orange County and across California. But our state is failing when it comes to economic recovery. This week, we mark an unprecedented six ...

It’s always curious when a media outlet creates a news story when there’s so much real news to report on. Case in point: yesterday’s Voice of OC article on COVID-19 in Anaheim and Santa Ana. Reporter Spencer Custodio tried to inflate what are basically stylistic differences between Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu and Santa Ana Miguel Pulido into substantive policy differences, ...

The coronavirus pandemic has hit California communities like a whirlwind, and Anaheim is no exception. The Anaheim Resort (including the Disney parks), the Anaheim Convention Center and a number of venues temporarily closed down last week. Anaheim City Hall shut down earlier this week out of an abundance of caution. The iconic Anaheim White House is shutting down for the ...

Earlier this month, the Anaheim City Council approved an agreement augmenting its partnership with the Salvation Army to increase the city’s inventory of homeless shelter beds – allowing the city to continue enforcing ordinances against camping and storing personal property on public facilities like city parks. Under the agreement, the Salvation Army will add another 100 beds to its existing ...

[Editor’s note: originally published in the OC Register on January 8, 2020.] Anaheim and all of Orange County can be proud of the proposal for baseball in our city. It would keep the Angels here for decades, sell the stadium site at market value, relieve taxpayers of costs and bring money and community benefits for Anaheim neighborhoods. The years of ...

At an 8-plus hour long special council meeting yesterday, the Anaheim City Council voted 4-2 to approve a purchase and sale agreement (PSA) under which SRB Management, a development partnership controlled by Angels owner Arte Moreno, would buy Angel Stadium and the surrounding property for $325 million. As part of the sale, the Angels committed to splaying in Anaheim for ...

[Originally published in the OC Register on Novermber 13, 2019] Anaheim is proud to have led the way on homelessness in Orange County. In the past year, we’ve opened shelters, helped hundreds out of inhumane conditions on our streets and restored parks and other public spaces for our neighborhoods and businesses. With more than 300 people in our shelters and ...

[This op-ed originally appeared in the OC Register on August 22, 2019] We have a once-in-a-generation chance to build on the legacy of baseball in Anaheim. As we set out on talks with the Angels on a new stadium lease, we can forge a better deal for our residents while also improving what is great about having baseball in Anaheim. ...