CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 14, 1989 | BOB SCHWARTZ, Times Staff Writer
In an atmosphere charged with the excitement of a political convention, 1,200 church members packed an Anaheim auditorium Thursday and won commitments from the mayors of Orange County's two largest cities to do more to combat drugs in their communities. Mayors of Anaheim and Santa Ana promised the crowd that they would take to their city councils a resolution declaring the existence of a "drug epidemic" and calling for coordinated action by local police, prosecutors, judges, educators and elected officials to eradicate it. To the delight of the crowd, Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter and Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young put their promises in writing on a blackboard wheeled out to the school auditorium stage by Father John Lenihan of St. Boniface Church in Anaheim.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
June 27, 1989
Elected officials often make a promise, form a committee or pass a resolution, figuring that will take the steam out of public pressure on an issue. But they are learning not to do that with Orange County Congregation-Community Organizations, a group of members of 15 churches. The parishioners have banded together in a grass-roots effort to cope with Orange County's growing drug problem and, as part of the process, to make local government try harder to cope with drugs. Last April, congregations from churches and synagogues in Anaheim and Santa Ana were given what sounded to them like commitments by the Santa Ana and Anaheim city councils to launch a coordinated effort to help eradicate drugs.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
October 26, 1992 | RENE LYNCH
A coalition of community leaders on Sunday appealed to the public and local government officials to support a policy that focuses on improving the future for Orange County families and children. More than 2,000 members and supporters of the Orange County Congregation Community Organizations held a convention Sunday at Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana, officials said.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
September 24, 1992 | JON NALICK
Saying that local government must improve education, a coalition of community leaders representing families countywide announced Wednesday its new public policy goals and the start of a massive voter registration drive. Orange County Congregation Community Organizations officials unveiled their "Lighting the Way" campaign during a 30-minute press conference at Madison Park in Santa Ana.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
June 19, 1990 | MARIA NEWMAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
In the style of delegates to a political convention, a spirited, foot-stomping crowd filled the Century High School gymnasium Monday night to say that they want an end to the drug epidemic. Gathering under signs that identified the names of their churches or neighborhoods, about 2,000 people asked elected officials to provide more leadership in the drug war. "Tonight we demand that our voices be taken seriously in this county," the Rev.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 23, 1989
In Santa Ana and Anaheim, church and state are not as separate as they used to be, and the result, without compromising any bedrock Constitutional concepts, promises to produce a healthier, more livable and crime-free community. In a coordinated effort prompted by a mutual concern over the growing drug problem and local government's failure to adequately address the issue, members of 15 churches in Santa Ana and Anaheim have successfully banded together to secure a commitment from the Anaheim and Santa Ana city councils that they would launch a coordinated effort to help eradicate drugs.