CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
March 2, 2008 | Jennifer Delson, Times Staff Writer
As a respected Mexican diplomat for nearly six years, Luis Miguel Ortiz Haro spent hours each week listening to the problems of Orange County's poorest residents. Now, as a new consul takes the helm of the Mexican consulate in Santa Ana, Ortiz Haro finds himself telling his own tale of woe. Ortiz Haro, 47, a former elected official in Mexico City who had no previous diplomatic experience, was replaced last month in what Mexican officials described as a routine change of consular heads.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
February 18, 2008 | Christian Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer
A Santa Ana man who was freed from prison after more than a dozen Los Angeles Times columns raised doubts about the evidence was killed early Sunday after a fight erupted at a party and an unknown assailant ran him down with a car, police said. Arthur Paul Carmona, 26, served more than two years in custody after being convicted of two armed robberies on the basis of eyewitness testimony. A key witness later recanted her identification of him, and two jurors said they had doubts about his guilt.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
January 20, 2008 | Jennifer Delson, Times Staff Writer
For years, Orange County civic boosters have argued over where its "downtown" might be: Santa Ana's historic urban core? Costa Mesa's leafy arts complex? Anaheim's bustling Resort District? Now Santa Ana city officials are promoting a massive redevelopment plan they say should end the debate once and for all.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
December 6, 2007 | Jennifer Delson, Times Staff Writer
Santa Ana police say three shootings in the city in the last week, two of them fatal, are not evidence of a gang war. "Our investigation indicates that these incidents are not related," Police Cpl. Jose Gonzalez said. "They just happened to fall in a week." However, police believe that the assaults are the result of gang activity. Crime in the city is lower than last year. There have been 15 gang-related homicides in Santa Ana this year, compared with 18 in 2006.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 8, 2007 | From Times staff and wire reports
A motorcyclist was killed Wednesday in a three-vehicle crash on southbound Interstate 5, authorities said. The accident occurred about 11:30 a.m. south of 17th Street when a 2002 black Ford Mustang traveling at a high speed hit a white Ford F-250 that then hit the motorcycle. The motorcyclist, whose name has not been released pending notification of relatives, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Mustang, Alexander Jakusin, 24, of Aliso Viejo, was arrested.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
October 19, 2007 | Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer
Government actions in a deportation case involving a Vietnamese refugee family in Santa Ana drew fire Thursday as political and community leaders accused immigration agents of intimidation. Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency last week arrested the parents and brother of Tam Tran, a 24-year-old UCLA graduate who testified before Congress about the plight of undocumented immigrant students in May.