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Andy's Updates is the city of Anaheim's monthly email newsletter, bringing the latest Anaheim news right to your inbox.
See the news for November below, and scroll to the bottom to subscribe to the newsletter email alert to make sure you don't miss out!
Join us on Saturday, Nov. 10 as we honor those who have served our country at the city’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony.
All are welcome to join city leaders as we show appreciation for members of all branches of the military.
- What: Anaheim Veterans Day Ceremony
- When: Saturday, Nov. 10
- Time: 11 a.m.
- Where: Veterans Monument, downtown Anaheim
- Address: 241 S. Anaheim Blvd.
- Free parking: Center Street Promenade or City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd.
There will also be a presentation of colors, a cake-cutting ceremony to commemorate the Marine Corps 243nd anniversary and a musical performance by the Esperanza High School Concert Choir.
Marine veteran and award-winning broadcaster Ed Arnold will serve as the ceremony emcee.
The Veterans Monument is next to the MUZEO at 241 S. Anaheim Blvd.
Anaheim goes to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 6 to choose a new mayor and three City Council members and weigh in on local ballot initiatives.
Don’t have time to get to the polls on Tuesday? Get your voting done this weekend!
We’re offering early voting at City Hall Friday until 5 p.m. and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3 to Nov. 5. Just come to the second floor of City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd. Free visitor parking is available in the structure behind City Hall.
If you are voting on Election Day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find your polling place by visiting the Orange County Registrar of Voters here or by calling the City Clerk’s Office at (714) 765-5166.
You can find a full list of candidate names and other details on our elections website at Anaheim.net/elections. There, you can also find an interactive map where you can input your address to find out which district you live in.
Anaheim is moving ahead with plans for additional homeless shelter space to help those in need as we weigh a potential lawsuit settlement that would protect our ability to continue enforcing where needed.
For much of 2018, we have been working with federal Judge David Carter to resolve a lawsuit filed by Orange County Catholic Worker and several individuals against the county of Orange, Anaheim and other cities.
The lawsuit relates to the county’s clearing of the Santa Ana River Trail in early 2018. Throughout the process, we have seen the risk of some Anaheim laws being put on hold, with implications for our parks, streets and neighborhoods.
Anaheim will add 325 shelter beds at two industrial sites away from schools, parks and neighborhoods. Once up and running, these beds will allow us to step up efforts to transition people off our streets and address impacts on parks, neighborhoods and businesses.
We’re looking to have the additional shelter space in place by early 2019.
We’ll be sharing more details in coming weeks. You can learn more about the first of two shelters here.
Why shelters?
We know homeless shelters raise questions and concerns. They are now a necessity for Anaheim and cities across Orange County and California.
A September federal court ruling determined that Anaheim and other cities cannot enforce anti-camping and other laws without having shelter beds available.
Anaheim continues to address homelessness through daily outreach, as well as enforcement in situations where someone may be breaking the law.
Yet, at any given time, our efforts are limited by how many beds are available at county and nonprofit shelters we work with.
Having additional shelter space in Anaheim will ensure available beds that our outreach workers and Anaheim Police can offer to those living in homelessness and allow us to enforce in cases where someone is breaking the law or turns down an offer of help.
The operational and security planning behind Bridges at Kraemer Place, a county-run shelter that opened in 2017 in an industrial area in east Anaheim, is our model for new shelter space.
Despite initial concerns, Bridges has been a success with little to no impact on neighboring businesses, thanks to strong management and close cooperation with Anaheim Police.
Additional shelter space also would be a requirement of a legal settlement currently under consideration to resolve the lawsuit filed by Orange County Catholic Worker.
Parks, businesses
All the while, we are constantly working to address impacts at Maxwell, La Palma and other parks as well as at businesses in our city.
We have heard firsthand from residents and businesses about the undue impact they are seeing.
Solving these issues is the goal of our shelter plan. We ask for your support as additional shelter space is the only viable option to keep helping people out of homelessness and to restore our parks and streets to their intended purposes.
Shelters are part of Anaheim’s larger, comprehensive approach, which relies on creating pathways out of homelessness through shelter, transitional and permanent housing, medical care, rehabilitation and employment.
Since January 2014, we have helped more than 1,400 people off the streets of Anaheim and into lasting housing.
While outreach and case management are the only long-term solutions to homelessness, we continue to address daily impacts on residents and businesses.
Each year, the Anaheim Police Department responds to more than 13,000 calls related to homelessness.
We recently put in place around-the-clock presence in our parks with overnight security and additional park rangers and Code Enforcement officers during the day and early evening.
We also have stepped up outreach services by our Anaheim-based nonprofit partner City Net from two to five days a week.
Funding
Anaheim is turning to state and county funding to add shelter space and expand services.
We have $7 million in dedicated state, county and city funding to address shelters and other homeless-related issues.
Additionally, the county of Orange continues to allocate homeless funding and resources countywide for emergency shelters and services. The county has $15 million in state Homeless Emergency Assistance Program money that will be used throughout the county, including in Anaheim.
To learn more about what we are doing to address homelessness, please check out our fact sheet here or visit Anaheim.net/homeless.
We’re celebrating 25 years of Anaheim Ducks hockey and great entertainment at Honda Center in 2018.
As we do, we’re also looking to the next 25 years and beyond.
For the past few months, we’ve been talking with the management team at Honda Center with a focus on:
- Securing the Anaheim Ducks here for the next 25-plus years.
- Ensuring the next generation of great entertainment at Honda Center.
- Potentially selling city land around the arena.
- Transferring management of the neighboring Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, better known as ARTIC, to Honda Center.
Beyond continuing great hockey and entertainment in Anaheim, a new agreement has the potential to generate more revenue and relieve the city of costs that we can use for public safety, parks, libraries and community services.
An agreement could also help us advance our vision for the Platinum Triangle, as the area around Honda Center and Angel Stadium of Anaheim is known.
The Platinum Triangle is seeing new apartments, shops and restaurants as part of the city’s long-term planning to create a downtown setting built around sports, entertainment, urban-style homes and jobs.
While there are no specific plans yet, a new agreement for Honda Center could lead to new restaurants, shops and other projects around the arena.
As fun as hockey games and concerts are at Honda Center, the goal is to enhance the experience. Think L.A. Live around Staples Center in Los Angeles or Petco Park in San Diego.
Stay tuned. We’re still ironing out details and ensuring an agreement would be good for all involved.
Any potential agreement would come before our City Council with opportunities for residents to find out more and offer input.
Coyotes are a fact of life.
They are drawn to cities for easy sources of food, including trash cans and outdoor pet food.
While they are more active in the springtime, coyotes have become a fixture in our communities throughout the year.
Coyotes lived in Orange County long before many neighborhoods took shape. And they’ve gotten very good adapting to our urban environment.
Realizing this, the city of Anaheim has created a management plan to help residents understand coyote behavior and how we can minimize our interactions with them.
For our efforts to be successful, we need your help.
An important part of the plan is reporting coyote sightings.
The more data we have about coyote sightings and human interactions, the better equipped we are to do community outreach and intervene if necessary.
You can report coyote sightings online at Anaheim.net/coyotes.
There you can also find an interactive map showing coyote incidents in Anaheim, as well as tips on how to keep coyotes away and protect your family.
And the good news is that our plan is already working.
Since January of this year, we’ve seen an increase in coyote reports, and a decrease in the loss of pets.
It’s proof that the more we educate our neighbors about coyotes, the safer we keep our pets and our community.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
The holiday model trains are here!
Anaheim’s MUZEO Museum and Cultural Center brings back a holiday favorite. The “MUZEO Express: Holiday Model Trains” exhibit features dozens of model trains, miniature scenes and fun, hands-on activities for the whole family.
You can even learn a bit about the history of trains in Southern California.
Don’t miss this Anaheim holiday tradition, it’s the perfect way to get into that holiday spirit.
The exhibit opens on Nov. 17 and goes through Jan. 20.
Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for children ages 4-12. Students, seniors and members of the military get in for $8. The museum is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MUZEO is at 241 S. Anaheim Blvd. in the heart of downtown Anaheim.
More at Muzeo.org.
Did you know we have a cactus garden in the heart of Anaheim?
It’s a unique feature at Pearson Park, and it’s a key part of Anaheim’s rich history.
The garden started as a pet project of former Park Superintendent Rudy Boysen more than 80 years ago.
His name might sound familiar — he’s the creator of the boysenberry and the namesake of Anaheim’s Boysen Park.
Boysen started building the cactus garden by taking trips out to the desert and digging up cacti and rocks to bring back to the Anaheim garden.
Many of the cacti you’ll find in the garden are native to the southwest and Baja Peninsula.
Over time, the cacti grew and multiplied, sometimes overtaking smaller plants.
And some well-meaning residents even contributed their own cactus and succulents to the garden.
In recent years the cactus garden grew to a point where a little human intervention was needed.
We recently stepped in to spruce things up a bit.
We removed overgrown plants and those that didn’t fit Boysen’s original vision.
What you’ll find at the cactus garden today are some of the original trees and cacti. Hint: they’re the big plants!
And there are also some new additions that fit with Boysen’s southwest and Baja Peninsula theme.
We’re excited about the new look of the cactus garden. Come admire it for yourself!
Pearson Park is at 400 N. Harbor Blvd.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s about time to break out your holiday decorations.
Make sure your lights are bright — and energy efficient — by getting brand new ones with Anaheim Public Utilities’ holiday light exchange program.
Just bring in one of your old incandescent holiday lights strands and get a free strand of LED lights.
They’ll look beautiful inside or outside your home, and use 90 percent less energy to help you save on your bill.
All you need is a utility bill or driver’s license to show your Anaheim address. We’re offering one string of lights per household.
Exchanges will be available Nov. 26 through Dec. 15 at two Anaheim libraries:
- Anaheim Central Library, 500 W. Broadway, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday
- Canyon Hills Library, 400 Scout Trail, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
We’ll also offer the light exchange at this year’s Nutcracker Tree Lighting and Holiday Village in downtown Anaheim on Dec. 8.
For more information, call (714) 765-4250 or visit Anaheim.net/utilities.