HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE - Non-Agenda DOWNTOWN
NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
February 1, 2022
Dear Santa Ana City Council members,
My name is Denise Reynoso and I am the president of the Downtown Neighborhood
Association. I would like to urge you, on behalf of the downtown residents, to please support
the Santa Ana Artwalk. The Artwalk is a free monthly event that many residents look forward
to through the many visual and performing arts events held monthly. It gives us a sense of
pride in our city and local artists. My neighbors and I enjoy walking around to the different
exhibits with our children and dancing in the streets. The Artwalk has a bit of something for
everyone.
The Artwalk has lost a lot of funding during the pandemic due to a decrease in parking
revenue. There is still a need to fund the music and lighting on the Second Street promenade,
live artists, providing free art workshops for the community, and the Artwalk Trolley. It makes
me very sad to see a lack of support for these items. I personally enjoyed sitting in Coffee Muse
to hear live poetry readings and open mic. Dancing in the Streets is also fun and it attracts
many people to DTSA. Many people around Orange County know about the Artwalk and they
come to enjoy the heart of Santa Ana every first weekend of the month. It is the best way for us
to showcase the best of what Santa Ana has to offer and to allow locals to enjoy the art.
I was very broken hearted to hear that the City's Arts Comission rejected funding to support
the Artwalk twice. I cannot think of a good reason to deny Santa Ana residents the opportunity
to exhibit and enjoy their art and culture. On behalf of Santa Ana residents and the downtown
residents, I strongly urge you to support the Artwalk and allow funding to expand the Artwalk's
activities.
Sincerely,
tL1
Denise Reynoso
DTNA President
714-904-9219
-A-- BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
2 1 rl * ORANGE COUNTY COUNCIL
January 28, 2022
The Honorable Vicente Sarmiento, Mayor
Santa Ana City Council
20 Civic Center Plaza
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Dear Mayor Sarmiento and Members of the Santa Ana City Council:
On behalf Orange County Council, Boy Scout of America we are writing to express our strong
support of a comprehensive policy to end the sale of menthol and all other flavored tobacco
products in Santa Ana, without exemption. Ending the sale of these products will help protect
youth and communities of color from these addictive and deadly products.
We are in the midst of a youth tobacco-use epidemic, in which tobacco companies are luring
kids into a lifetime of nicotine addiction through the sale and targeted marketing of candy-
flavored tobacco products. Tobacco companies knowingly hide dangerous and addictive
nicotine—a chemical we know harms brain development—behind candy flavors gummy bear,
blue raz, fruity pebbles, and minty menthol in order to hook kids on tobacco. These products
often mimic popular candies, drinks, or snacks in both packaging and flavor, making them
particularly appealing to youth. Today, more than 2 million middle and high school students use
e-cigarettes nationally, and 70 percent of youth e-cigarette users say they use them "because
they come in flavors I like."
Youth are not the only targets of Big Tobacco's deceptive marketing campaigns. For decades,
the tobacco industry has targeted the African American community, hooking generations of
African Americans on minty menthol cigarettes and profiting off addiction, disease, and death.
Today, 85 percent of African Americans who smoke use minty menthols, smoking them at
higher rates than other demographics while quitting smoking at lower rates. African Americans
die at higher rates than other groups from tobacco-related diseases such as cancer, heart
disease, and stroke. Lung cancer kills more African Americans than any other type of cancer.
In Santa Ana, we know that flavors, including menthol, are hooking youth on tobacco.
Legislation was recently enacted to prevent online sales to minors, but that is just one piece of
the puzzle as online sales represent only a fraction of the ways flavored tobacco products reach
youth. The vast majority of underage e-cigarette users in California obtain the products from
social sources, such as their friends. Ending the sale of these products is the best way to protect
youth and people of color from the predatory practices of Big Tobacco.
1211 East Dyer Rd
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Phone: 714-546-4990
fax: 714-546-0415
www.ocbsa.org
Prepared. For Life'
The dangers of smoking are well documented. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke,
lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes
emphysema and chronic bronchitis. In addition, there is growing evidence that vaping can also
harm lung health. More than 100 local jurisdictions have taken action to end the sale of
flavored tobacco and protect future generations from getting hooked on this dangerous habit.
These include the cities of Buena Park, Delano, Sacramento, Adelanto, Oroville and Woodland
as well as Los Angeles County, to name a few.
While SB 793 was recently enacted to end the sale of most flavored tobacco products, tobacco
companies spent more than $20 million to place the law on hold until the next statewide
general election. Santa Ana kids can't wait an entire year to be protected - local action is
needed to protect the community right now and address the urgent issue of youth tobacco use.
Every day we delay protecting youth and communities of color is a day that Big Tobacco has the
opportunity to use fruit and candy-flavored tobacco to addict more life-long customers.
A strong Tobacco Retail Licensing (TRL) program will provide enforcement for a flavored
tobacco sales restriction policy and is a proven way to prevent and limit youth tobacco use. We
recommend the city strengthen the existing TRL program by requiring annual compliance
checks on all tobacco retailers, specifying that annual license fees will be high enough to cover
the cost of the program, holding tobacco retail owners/operators responsible for monetary
penalties, and restricting the density of tobacco retail locations. In California, youth and young
adults living in places with strong retail licensing policies are less likely to use cigarettes and e-
cigarettes than their counterparts who live in places with poor retail licensure policies.
For these reasons, we are proud to support a comprehensive policy that ends the sale of all
flavored tobacco products without exemption.
Sincerely,
Denovan A. Lin =�
Chief Operating Officer
Orange County Council, Boy Scouts of America