The End of an Era

I write this first blog post of the year with a heavy heart.

While out to dinner tonight, I overheard (from a pretty reliable source) that in the coming months, one of Downtown Santa Ana's foremost restaurants in the Artist's Village will be closing its doors forever.

Memphis at the Santora is one of the pioneering "Hipster" restaurants that set up shop in "DTSA" in the early 2000's. Home to the Cobra Sandwich, stupendous happy hour specials, and some of the best Arnold Palmers around, Memphis is one of those simple comforts that helped this guy believe in the potential of our Downtown, not to mention help this San Diegan call the city of Santa Ana his new home.

Many locals fondly refer to Memphis Santa Ana's version of "Cheers"–a place where everyone knows your name, and I couldn't agree more.

Over the years, Memphis has brought on some amazing and colorful cast members that really gave that spot some spunk and personality. Departed, but not forgotten former cast members including: Johnny, Julio, Greg, Ricky, Kristy, Dave, and more recently Jefferson, still rank high on my personal list of "Most Favorite People I've Met While Doing Time in Santa Ana".

The most ironic part about this news is that Memphis laid the groundwork for all of the restaurants we now have in Downtown Santa Ana today, yet as the dream comes to fruition, the restaurant who dreamed the biggest will end up being just a fond memory.

Why Memphis at the Santora will be closing their doors is an answer I do not have (at the moment). Did the new owner of the Santora Building decide to raise their rent? Did the Owners of Memphis succumb to the fatigue that comes with doing business in a transitional area?

Who knows, but at least the Costa Mesa location will still be around and will hopefully continue to thrive adjacent to The LAB.

Thank you Memphis for all of the great friendships you helped forge, not to mention all of the great memories I've made and lost while sitting at your delightful bar–you will definitely be missed by this guy.

Fast Water, Slow Drains and Hitler's Revenge

Every time the sky opens up like it has these past few days, I flashback like a segment in LOST to my freshman year in college when I owned a 1990, 2-door Volkswagon Jetta (I know, total chick car).

Although it was a great alternative to walking to school, this car was a complete nightmare for this starving student. Not only did the car require some kind of major maintenance every other month keeping me in an eternal poor house, but this vehicle, appropriately nicknamed "Hitler's Revenge" by a good friend, leaked water like a sieve from Hell.

The worst part about the leaking water wasn't the fact that it destroyed a $160 Art History book, or my mid-term art project, no, it was the smell that matured from the floor just behind the driver's seat. I'd often warn people that asked me for a ride that my car had a very distinct aroma–equating it to a hot burlap sack of wet spoiled potatoes. Forget the air-fresheners, it only intensified my car's unique fragrance.

It's safe to say that because of "Hitler's Revenge", I will probably never, ever buy another Volkswagon for as long as I live.

Flash forward some 10+ years and I'm answering a phone call from a neighbor living at the lofts saying that the deluge has caused the gutter water to rise over the sidewalk and slowly creep through her front door.

Naturally, my first instinct is to call Public Works to see if they know of any sewer/gutter blockages. If not, then what are the public's options to help protect their property.

From a call I placed in to Public Works on Tuesday I learned two things: “All drains and gutters in Santa Ana drain slowly” (clogged with the dreams of so many who have tried to make Santa Ana a better place, perhaps?) and the City of Santa Ana offers up to 10 free sandbags to residents, 24 hours a day at a self-service station down at 215 South Center Street (92703).


View Larger Map

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I've attached a photo below that my good neighbor-friend took as he drove around the complex. All I can say is that I’ve lived here for roughly three and half years and I’ve never seen the water run this high, so this is definitely out of the norm.

Though this might seem like another dire situation where residents of Santa Ana are once again “assed-out” by the City, the flooding at this intersection will most likely need to be addressed when the City moves forward with their Go-Local Street Car plan…hopefully.

Off My Game

Last night shortly before 10:30PM, my "Tagger Spidey-Senses" were tingling so I popped my head outside to find two kids failing miserably trying to marker-tag a real estate sign just down the street. I guess these morons didn't realize that trying to vandalize a damp surface with a crappy marker gets you nowhere–frakin' rookies.

"HEY YOU F*CKING C*NTS! TAKE THAT SH*T SOMEWHERE ELSE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

The two wannabes nonchalantly glared back at me, looked at each other, then continued to walk West down Santa Ana Boulevard.

I considered chasing them down for some extra exercise (not to mention Christmas cash), but for some reason, I decided against it and just stood there.

What the hell Ben?! This is so unlike you? You didn't have the urge to give them a face full of mace?
 
Perhaps it was due to the fact that I was wearing flip-flops, or that I'm currently out of pepper spray, or maybe because I didn't see any additional damage around the neighborhood. Or perhaps it was the fact that my top-of-my-lungs shouting didn't stir one neighbor–causing a single light to be turned or a front door to be opened in curiosity.

Figuring I should at least call the cops to make sure these kiddies got home safely, I rushed back in to grab my cell phone (which I hadn't yet programmed SAPD as speed dial–idiot) and called SAPD dispatch.

Fumbling with my new phone, I hurried back out to the street only to find that the two hoodlums were nowhere in sight. Getting the dispatcher on the line only added more frustration to the situation as the dispatcher couldn't keep up with my well-paced and well-trained caller-to-dispatcher dialog.

"Hi, I've got two teenage taggers–both Hispanic males around 14-16 years old walking westbound down Santa Ana Boulevard, just passing Garfi....".

"WAIT WAIT WAIT–slow down sir", the dispatcher said.

"UGH! I should have just chased them down THEN called you" I said. I then began to walk down the Boulevard in hopes of seeing where these f*cktards went. As I passed Garfield Street I thought back to the last time I caught a tagger around here and that it took SAPD over thirty minutes to arrive.

It was only after wrapping up the phone call with SAPD did I realize that I had walked too far down the street without my usual post-10PM tagger-chasing accompaniments (pepper spray, Jesus Stick, etc).Even more frazzled, I gave up the search and headed back home.

The thing that's eating me is why didn't I react like I normally do? Am I getting soft? Geezus, what's happening to me? Unprepared and non-reactive just isn't my style.

Or have I finally begun to succumb to the apathy that eventually plagues everyone in Santa Ana?

I mean, why risk my life when I haven't even beaten Modern Warfare 2 yet, right?

Man, when did I stop caring or even worse, when did I come to my senses? I'm hoping what happened last night was just a glitch in the Matrix and I'll be back on track in no time.

On a side note, can anyone recommend a decent-priced paintball gun with good distance?

Sloppy Sloping

Over the long weekend, a neighbor and I headed up to the top of his building to see how the sloping roofs were holding up after the recent rain.

Neither of us are experts when it comes to roofs nor standing water, but what we saw couldn't have been good.





In the second photo from the top, we took a ruler and dropped it in at a random spot and the water was nearly 2 inches deep. Other spots looked deeper, but neither of us really wanted to get our shoes soaked.

The bottom two photos show that the sloping roof does indeed work–the problem is that the slope ends below the level of the drainage pipes on the façade.

Lennar backs our roofs with a ten year warranty, but just imagine the inconvenience should the roofs begin to leak. Dry wall repairs, mold inspections/remediation, damage to flooring, furniture or electronics are just a few things one would most likely deal with.

In the mean time, I would suggest to everyone to inspect their roofs (yeah, even though the CC&Rs restrict you from going to the roof, I think when it comes to inspecting for standing water the HOA can look the other way).

If you find that your roof does indeed suffer from poor drainage, bring a broom to the roof and sweep off any excess standing water through the drain.

Hopefully we can get Lennar to take another look at the roofs before they pack it up for good here at the Santiago Lofts and leave this potential headache to be dealt with at the homeowner's expense.

**Update**
I ran into Eddie the other day and he told me that Lennar is bringing the roofing contractor back out to fix all of the drainage issues.

And that folks, is why Lennar is one of the best home builders out there.

Live Together, Die Alone

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that Adams Iron, located on the Northwest corner of Santiago Street and Civic Center Drive caught on fire yesterday around 3:30PM.

Luckily, no one was hurt and once again, the Santa Ana Fire Department hunks did an amazing job of containing the fire before it could spread to any surrounding businesses, or worse, nearby residential units, including the Logan neighborhood or the lofts.

Even though someone's business burned down, and it looks as if the employees will be out of work at this location, there is one positive thing to mention and that is our community is well looked after.

Around 3:50PM yesterday, I received a phone call from a resident telling me about the fire, then a text message from one of Santa Ana's best political bloggers, then an email from one of our fantastic new residents who posted the incident on our community's Google Group, followed up with an instant message from another resident.

It's a good feeling knowing that there are so many residents here looking out for one another. Live Together, Die Alone–as Jack would say on Lost (which comes back in less than a week). Though, I wouldn't go as far as to say Die Alone–how about ...or find out your house burned down and no one knew you well enough to save your cats.

So if you own/live here and haven't met your neighbors yet, know that we've got a great little community here at the Santiago Street Lofts–with friends all around the city who want nothing more than to see our neighborhood blossom as we lay the building blocks for a grand entrance into the heart of Orange County.

Panic! At The Depot

Yesterday afternoon, some douchetard thought it would be funny to phone in a bomb threat at the adjacent Santa Ana Train Depot.

You can read the full story here, but let me ask you–what kind of piece of crap thinks a shenanigan like this is funny, especially around the holidays?

Douchetards, that's who.

Chalk Another One Up For The Speedway

Another accident took place this morning on The Santa Ana Speedway shortly after 8:30AM. Luckily, it didn't look like anyone was injured in this accident.

I didn't notice it at the time, but after close examination of image, it looks as if both cars are the same make (Toyota), model (Corolla) AND color.

What are the odds of that?

The Santa Ana Speedway

The speed limit on Santa Ana Boulevard is a clearly posted 35mph, but rarely do those that drive on it observe it. I personally think it should be lowered to 25mph, and for good reason.

Over the past two years, I’ve seen a good amount of traffic accidents occurring within 100 yards of my front door. I attribute these frequent incidents to two things:

1. Most people don’t know how to drive
   
   
2. Drivers see the Boulevard as a Speedway

With that said, another accident occurred on East Santa Ana Boulevard yesterday around 6:30PM–this one involving a teenage kid on a bike and an OCTA bus.

This accident marks roughly the fifth accident that I’ve seen since on the “raceway” since July of this year, and it was probably the most nerve rattling one I’ve seen in a while. There’s no sound, doesn’t matter what language you speak, like the sound of a mother screaming out “Mi Niño, Mi Niño" (my boy, my boy)!


(And though some of you may think that I’m a sadistic ghoul for taking photos at accident scenes, these photographs will be instrumental in convincing city engineers, police, traffic departments and council members that steps will need to be taken to facilitate a reduction in speed on Santa Ana Boulevard. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.)

A few months back after this accident, I put a call into SAPD requesting an officer to sit out on Poinsettia Street and do nothing but write tickets in an effort to control the speeds that go unchecked in our neighborhood.

No response.

In addition, a recent request to speak with a city engineer about many of my traffic and parking concerns around the Santiago Street Lofts continues to go unanswered. Go figure.

Hopefully, an upcoming pow-wow with our most-elusive mayor will yield better results–it is an election year after all.

So just how fast are these commuters driving down Santa Ana Boulevard? Well, according to my very affordable and quite accurate Hot Wheels radar gun, a decent amount of the drivers are obeying the speed limit, but the majority of people I've tracked using this gun were driving an average of 40mph, but some have exceeded that number by an additional 20mph!

Just this morning, I stepped out to grab some readings during the off-peak hours. The slowest speed I captured was 39mph as these drivers darted west into the high-density neighborhood that borders the Speedway.


Even now as I write this post, commuters are making their mad dash from downtown as the mass exodus of Santa Ana begins.

It’s only a matter of time until one of these drivers ends up crashing through my front door.



"..you need to pump your brakes and drive slow homie".

Association Meeting Thursday (07/17) @ 6PM

When: July 17/6:00PM
Where: Santiago Street Loft Sales Office

Landscaping, lighting and window washing to be discussed.
I'm hoping that Lennar will make a graceful exit once they've completed the final phase with a courtesy window washing.

Can't make the meeting but have an issue with our Association?
Go ahead and leave a comment on this thread or the community Google Group and it will be addressed.

Ooh! The Colors!

About a month ago, this "peace" caught my eye as I was driving south in the car pool lane on the 55 freeway. To get a better look at the work, I had to pull off the freeway and backtrack being that it wasn't exactly facing the commuting traffic.

Graffiti of this caliber is rarely seen in Santa Ana. Luckily, I had my handy-dandy point-and-shoot cause I knew this one was a keeper.

The businesses along the 55 freeway are frequently subject to gawdawful "attempts" at graffiti art. The Pool Tables USA building alone (facing the southbound side of the 55 freeway) is often abused by graffiti of sub-par standards (at best), which are eventually painted over only to be a clean canvas for the next amateur waiting in the bushes.

Note: In the last two years, I've seen this building having been painted over several times. I wonder when the property owner will consider a wall-crawling vine to help reduce the all too frequent attacks and help cut back on his/her trips to the Home Depot paint department.

If the "KND" (Kings Never Die) signature on the top right looks/sounds familiar to you, then you probably remember the infamous "22 Tagger" who a few years back, terrorized CalTrans and the 22 freeway with his mark.

Now I'm not trying to justify whether or not this should be considered art (though I personally think it is), or whether "nicer" graffiti should be condoned, but rather wanted to share an interesting photo of true graffiti culture existing in Orange County.

I'm sure if this artist were to shift their talent onto a stretched canvas, they'd be able to make some serious money at our monthly Art Walk.

04/17 Association Meeting

In case you missed the notice in your last HOA statement, there's an association meeting tonight at 6PM in the loft sales office.

UPDATE: Meeting Notes

Parking
The abuse of guest parking was addressed.
Painting the curb to read "Visitor Only" is the first step to deter residents from using those spots.

The next step (if needed) will be to tow vehicles as stated by Lester Tucker (OBAMF) of Lennar.

Landscaping
Although during the last meeting it was stated that Villa Park was "out", they've shown some improvement and OBAMF is willing to give them another 60 days.
Villa Park will also be spraying the bamboo trees for those little fruit flies(?) that invade your house when you open your windows.

I asked if the gardeners can let the bamboo and wall-climbing vines grow a little and not butcher them like a Marine's haircut when they do trim them--
(Gary from Villa Park told me this morning that they keep the bamboo short being that it was a requirement by the fire dept. and the vines short cause his guys can't reach if they get too tall...hmm).

Signs and Banners
The SSL banner on DiRienzo's building and the one missing in front of 704 Santiago are to be repaired/replaced immediately as stated by OBAMF.

Stucco and Paint Damage
The red building facing Civic Center Dr. has had stucco damage for quite some time now.
Eddie "The Man" Cano should be looking into this soon.

I believe that covers the gist of it.

911 on Brown Street

This past Saturday around 7:30PM, the problematic 911 Brown Street property caught on fire from the inside. This unit and others like it are frequently shelters for the homeless or often serve as hangouts for the crackheads.

In my early blogging days, I took a walk with Ray Lirette with the city of Santa Ana in hopes of getting more insight about these vacant lots. As I recall, Ray stated that the acquisition of this unit in particular was a tricky one being that it is locked up in a trust, and the rightful homeowners are most likely deceased.
Too bad the fire department arrived in a matter of seconds to put out the blaze. I'm sure that many of the Lacy residents were like me, hoping that the firemen would just let this unit burn down to the ground.

Muerte en el Agua

I inherited my father's curly hair and my mother's thumb–green thumb that is. She could pretty much resuscitate any dying plant or drop any random seed in a pot of soil and within a few weeks, we'd be looking for a permanent place of residence for the fresh sprout in the backyard.

Before moving to the Santiago Street Lofts, I had a small collection of potted plants. Some of them were store bought and others were grown from seeds that I bought at Home Depot. All of which were flourishing with basic maintenance and water straight from the tap.

Unfortunately, the move to Santa Ana ended up costing me the lives of many of my dear and longtime (plant) friends. I'm not sure whether it's the hardness of the water, the chlorine, or whatever mysterious funk seen in this video, but the water in Santa Ana has been deadly to my plants.

The only plants to have survived were my water "lucky" bamboos (insert pun).

After reading up at various sites and consulting with Poison Ivy herself (my Mom), the best option for growing healthy houseplants in Santa Ana would be to switch to distilled water. Turns out that hard water contains minerals that can be very harsh on houseplants.

Another option if you don't want to go distilled is to fill your watering container and let it sit for a minimum of 36 hours. By this time, the chlorine should have dissipated and be a little safer for your babies.

If you go the way of a water softener, remember that this water contains heavy concentrations of salts. The salts will hinder the growth of your plants, or even worse, pull a 187 on them.

Finally, when watering your plants, make sure the water is at room temperature. Very hot or very cold water can shock the roots and damage, or even kill your green friends.

Here is a great site about watering houseplants.

Party Poopers

About two weeks ago, a very nice dog-owning couple renting at the Santiago Street Lofts moved out–with them went our mysterious problem of unpicked-up dog poop.

It was frustrating to see the blatant disregard for other dog owners and folks that walk around the community or sit in the community courtyard, only to be greeted by a steamy pile of mush, accompanied by a swarm of angry flies.

What irked me more was that even after multiple signs were posted in the common area by “yours truly”, the problem persisted; in fact, it got worse!

These renters, as nice as they were, were “bad renters” in my eyes. I say “bad” because they proved the generalization that says that renters just don’t give a crap.

When it comes down to it, the blame ultimately lies with the individual(s) who makes the decision to rent their place out in communities such as ours.

If you don’t want to take part in our kick-ass community, then please, rent your place out to someone who does.

A Sinking Ship?

First, their sweet corner location goes up for sale, then their website is nowhere to be found, and today the OC Register reports that Urban West has backed out from the proposal that would have built over 400 condos and commercial space in the Parc Anaheim Project (which was later slated to become an RV Park.)

Of course, who could blame Urban West for not wanting to build an RV park—they're way too hip for a project of that caliber.

But is Urban West on their way out?

Association Meeting Tonight @ 6PM

For those of you that have a bone to pick with Keystone Property Management, now is the time to sharpen your pitchforks and light your torches.

When/Where: 6PM inside the loft sales office (2nd floor).

***UPDATE***For those of you that missed the meeting:

1. Villa Park Landscaping is on their way out after a year and a half of disappointing service


2. Power washing (which is already in the budget) of the walkways is scheduled for a minimum of twice a year


3. Semiannual (exterior) window cleaning will be looked into due to surplus in association funds


4. The removal of etched graffiti on glass windows is approaching enforcement (fines)


5. We all agree that (Lennar) Eddie is overworked and under appreciated


6. Graffiti clean-up by the company contracted by the association needs to happen quicker and actually completely cover it up


7. Lester Tucker, our new Association president seems to be on the ball


8. The security guards are not to be sleeping in their cars (duh)
   


9. Fines for not putting trash bins back in your garage are going to be assessed (they should have been already)
   


10. The monopoly as to who can make the metal business signs will be lifted
    

We had a great showing tonight. Thank you everyone who came!

Oh My G'OSH

Back in November, a friend of mine was shopping at Kragen Auto Parts (Grand Avenue and Seventeenth Street) when he noticed the case for the spray paint was left unlocked.

Usually these cases are clearly labeled with signs that read something similar to, “Keep case locked at all times”–reminding employees to help keep loss at a minimum.

This past weekend while picking up a few things at OSH on Seventeenth Street, I noticed that one of the cases for the spray paint was left unlocked and unsupervised and wide open.

As I was finishing up my transaction at the register, I asked if I could speak with the (weekend) manager on duty. When she arrived at the front of the store, I notified her that the case was left unlocked and kindly asked if she could remind the employees to lock the door after the customer gets what they need from the case–you know, being that Santa Ana has somewhat of a tiny problem with graffiti.

The manager told me that the lock in question was a tricky one and that they have someone coming out this week to fix it. Hmm, it really didn’t seem all that tricky to lock when I did it with the tip of my shoe.

The next day I headed back to OSH to grab an item that somehow missed my initial list.

I walked past the aisle where the spray paint is located, stopped, turned around, and was shocked to see that a different section of the case was left wide open once again!


Again, with the tip of my shoe, I clicked the push-lock closed and secured the cabinet. I didn’t even bother asking for a manager this time.

The next day, I phoned OSH corporate headquarters where I shared my story and concerns with the representative. She notified me that this was unacceptable and that the district manager will be addressing this issue directly with the manager of the OSH on Seventeenth Street.

After reading about the graffiti problems occurring at the nearby Monterey Villas community, one can only hope that the folks at OSH remember that their carelessness affects all those around them.

OSH corporate headquarters can be reached at:
6450 Via Del Oro
San Jose, CA 95119
(408) 281-3500

He Said, She Said

Back in 2005, before the completion of the first phase at the Santiago Street Lofts, I heard a lot of rumors in regards to the city, the surrounding neighborhoods, the loft development itself, and projects that were supposedly in the works to support this and future nearby developments.

Whether or not what I heard was a rumor, conjecture or simply flat-out a lie, here are some of the fairytales that I remember hearing, but have yet to (or possibly never) come to fruition.

• Nearby restaurants and shops were in the works, scheduled for completion in early 2009


• Well-lit streets all the way down to downtown Santa Ana


• A streetcar or trolley line was to be installed running from the train depot to downtown


• The CenterLine light rail project was still alive


• A shuttle service would run on the weekends from the lofts to Proof bar


• The trees in the SSL community courtyard would eventually grow


• The Mayor really cares about the Santiago Street Lofts and will do anything to ensure its survival


• The Santiago Street Loft development would be completed by early 2008


• Taco Neza “poisons” anyone who looks non-Hispanic


• Cable railing was going to be an option for the third-floor loft


• The association covers any graffiti–even on the roll-up doors


• The city will power-wash the sidewalks on a monthly basis


• Metered parking was to be allowed on Santa Ana Blvd


• A coffee house and (small) grocery at the NE corner of Santa Ana Boulevard and Santiago


• A pedestrian bridge was to connect over the blvd near Poinsettia


• It’s safe to park your car on the streets

What were you told? What do you believe?

I Love It When They Run

Taking a break from the über-addicting Super Mario Galaxy to walk the dog last night, I zeroed in on two kids; one of which was tagging the wall on the north side of Santa Ana Boulevard. As they crossed Santiago Street and headed towards our complex, I knew right then that trouble was headed our way. I quickly brought the dog inside, grabbed my “usual necessities” and charged out the door.

One of the kiddies that was wearing a USC hooded sweatshirt was supposed to be the lookout while his friend spray-painted the rollup door on a unit across the street. That kid in the sweatshirt had one job and one job alone—and he failed miserably being that I was able to run-up and pepper spray the tagger right between the eyes.

With a face full of searing pain, he amazingly “Froggered” his way across the street through traffic and headed west down Santa Ana Boulevard. In “police speak”, I engaged the suspect in pursuit.

Over the course of my life, I’ve come to accept that I’m pretty much an average guy (yes, you should be feeling sorry for “Mrs. Dayhoe” if you don’t already), average with the exception that I can run—really fast (and swear all at the same time).

In high school, I ran a 4.4/40. That means for every 1.1 seconds, I’ve advanced another ten yards in distance. Making it off the pine, well, that’s another story, a sad one at that.

Needless to say, I caught up to him by the next block (Garfield Street) and at this point, I was terrified—terrified that the Chipotle burrito that I devoured less than an hour prior was going to burst from me like it did from the foil wrapper.

Without even having to tackle him, I forced him to lie down on his stomach, spread his legs, and put his hands behind his back. The problem now was that I didn’t have anything to restrain him with other than my body weight (plus a 5lb. burrito that was churning away).

Luckily, an FBI officer returning from a prisoner drop-off saw me chasing him down the street and took the time after a long day to lend a hand and a set of cuffs, allowing me to place an out-of-breath call to SAPD.

At this time, a neighbor at the lofts, Maglite in hand, also arrived on the scene having heard me yelling when I originally confronted the tagger. I was amazed and thankful that he too came to help out.

The police showed up and had me fill out the standard police report. Let me tell you, since moving to Santa Ana, that’s one form I’ve filled out one too many times.

They asked me “What possessed you to try to take this extreme form of action?”

One thing came to mind*: The Greatest Fight Scene EVER.

The officer stated that very rarely do they catch taggers in the act and commended me for my actions, but not without chiding me of the lesson that I always forget in these situations: These kids could be concealing weapons—is it really worth it?

I say until Jack Bauer is back on the air satisfying my need for an adrenaline rush, then yes, yes it is.

*Okay, this one also came to mind as well.

Saying No to “NoLo”

A few days ago, a friend of mine turned my attention to this surprise that has also caught the eye of the OC Weekly’s Gustavo Arellano.

Needless to say, I too was very disappointed. I guess that since I don't host art galleries, I didn't have a say.

This ill-conceived nickname (being that we really aren't north of anything except Ware) can only further widen the gap between the new residents (lofties) and the old (everyone else).

Sure, I want to see positive changes come to Santa Ana and would love nothing more than to have a Chipotle across the street (A man can dream, right?), but I don't think anything positive will come by renaming a neighborhood you just moved into.

C’mon now, how can anyone say no to these?