With tensions so very high nationwide over the deaths of two citizens in Minnesota at the hands of immigration enforcement agents, it’s understandable that parents and educators alike were upset to learn that officials at Woodcrest Elementary School in Fullerton were not notified that federal agents and local police were hunting for an allegedly armed suspect just around the corner last Thursday morning.
Here’s how the scene unfolded, as reported in the Los Angeles Times by Katerina Portela, who is interning at the paper.
“It was early Thursday morning when the Fullerton Police Department received a startling call: A man, described as wearing a white shirt, was seen jumping over fences at the Highland Pinetree Apartment Homes with a handgun. Officers arrived at 6:46 a.m., where they discovered that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, were also in pursuit, a department official said.”
At around that same time, Woodcrest children who were enrolled in a 7 a.m. before-school program were arriving on campus, where no one had been warned of the threat.
“Chad Hammitt, deputy superintendent of Fullerton School District’s Human Resources Division, said that he found out about the presence of immigration agents near the school from social media,” Portela reports. “He called Fullerton police at 7:14 a.m. to ask what was happening. Thirty minutes later, he received a call back.”
So, unless I’m mistaken, that means it was about an hour before the school was notified by police as to what had been going down, during which time parents were continuing to drop off their kids at an arguably perilous site unwittingly.
Hammitt was not clued in to the fact that the suspect being chased was believed to have a handgun.
“They told me a suspect was on the loose and that police were holding a perimeter. I didn’t know he was armed. Had we known, we would have put the school on lockdown,” Hammitt is quoted as saying.
“It wasn’t until 9:10 a.m. that teachers, parents and staff found out the suspect was armed, when Fullerton police posted an official statement on their Instagram,” according to The Times report.
“Fullerton parent Laura Manchester got a call from a teacher who told her that teachers were running into offices panicked,” Portela writes.
“[The teacher] told me that the school relieved the teachers [of teaching duties, bringing in substitute teachers] and brought counselors. The staff was crying,” Manchester said. A situation like this is “a very big deal.”
Also upsetting to some was an apparent disagreement over which agency was responsible for cutting the lock off a gate at the apartment complex during the search for the man (who was never apprehended, by the way). According to the story, some witnesses believe it was Fullerton police that did that, giving rise to speculation that the local force was in cahoots with the feds, which is against state law.
Resident Danielle Vasquez, who provided The Times with a video she took of the events, said she followed the officers from a distance so she could document what was going down. The full story gives more detail on what she and other residents saw, as well as the Fullerton police department’s response to concerns You can read it here.
In other news related to immigration enforcement efforts, a grassroots event took place Sunday in Huntington Beach, where a mom spurred about 100 locals, mostly parents and their kids, according to the Daily Pilot story, to walk in protest of federal immigration officers’ recent aggressive actions.
“Desireé DeLattre, a Huntington Beach mother of two, including a 5-year-old, said Monday she was moved to organize the walk after learning of the Jan. 20 detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos who, along with his father, was transported from Minnesota to Texas after being picked up while coming home from preschool,” writes my colleague Sara Cardine.
“The story about Liam was all over the news, and seeing his sweet face, I couldn’t even sleep, I was so sick,” said DeLattre.
“Families make up a majority of the population here for sure, but our voices sometimes don’t get heard because we’re busy,” she told Cardine. “I wanted people like me, who barely have time for activism, to integrate advocacy into their normal lives.
“I was so proud of parents for keeping it productive and healthy and showing kids how to stand up for themselves — it was like a microdose of activism.”
You can find that article, along with a few photos of the event, here.
MORE NEWS 
A new restaurant called Huntington’s On The Pier will offer both indoor and outdoor seating.
(Courtesy of Huntington’s On The Pier)
• It’s been a long time coming, but the Huntington Beach City Council has approved a $1.3-million completion bond for Huntington’s On The Pier, a restaurant and bar that will feature both indoor and outdoor dining.
• On a split vote last week, the Costa Mesa City Council approved the first reading of a new ordinance regulating self-checkout stands that’s intended to protect the local workforce. Assuming it passes on its second reading, it will apply to at least 22 retail grocery and pharmacy establishments over 15,000 square feet in size. Long Beach is the only other city that has such a law in place. Also in Costa Mesa, things have become messy at its Tennis Center, which has been under contract with Calabasas-based Top Seed Academy and has been under audit. Now, the two pros teaching there have walked out, reportedly out of frustration with the city.
• Yesterday afternoon the Anaheim City Council was scheduled to hold a closed session to discuss what to do about City Manager Jim Vanderpool after a recent TimesOC report revealed he had accepted free accommodations to a days-long Anaheim Chamber of Commerce retreat without reporting it as a gift, as is required. Due to this newsletter’s deadline, we can’t yet report what came of it.
• The city of San Clemente last week approved a contract with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to install a $1-million surveillance system on a hilltop to watch for panga boats that might have migrants aboard.
• After hearing from constituents, the Fountain Valley City Council last week backed away from advancing a ballot measure that, if approved by voters this year would Have made it a charter city. But the door was left open to consider it for the 2028 election cycle.
• A Laguna Beach church has been aiming to build affordable senior housing on its acreage for years. The first iteration of its plans included 72 units, but after getting feedback from locals, it the project was whittled down, first to 44 homes and now a more modest 28-unit development that officials hope will gain city approval this year.
• Also on the topic of housing developments, the YMCA of Orange County is looking to transform its property on Newport-Mesa Family YMCA acreage near the Back Bay nature preserve into what it’s calling the Newport Hub. It would boast 105 residential units for people 55+, with 20 of those designated affordable.
BUSINESS 
Anduril’s Roadrunner jet drone can return to its launch spot.
(Anduril)
• Costa Mesa-based Anduril Industries will invest $1 billion to create a new campus at Douglas Park near the Long Beach Airport, the L.A. Times reports. The defense company is developing new technologies, including drones, missiles, robotic submarines and autonomous fighter jets
• CalOptima Health announced in a news release last week that its chief executive officer, Michael Hunn, will retire at the end of this year.
COURTS & CRIME 
Aryan Papoli, seen in an undated photo, moved to Newport Beach seeking a serene artist’s lifestyle, according to son Navid Goodarzi.
(Courtesy of Navid Goodarzi)
• Gordon Abas Goodarzi, 66, of Rolling Hills, was arrested Friday on suspicion of murdering his estranged wife, Newport Beach resident Aryan Papoli, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department reported Saturday. Papoli’s body was found 75 feet down an embankment near Crestline in mid-November.
• Oscar Eduardo Ortega Anguiano, 44, who killed two people in a Seal Beach DUI crash after having previously been deported was sentenced to 46 months in prison Friday for being in the country illegally. His defense attorney explained the sentence means Ortega Anguiano will be deported again.
• Police arrested a 21-year-old man following a pursuit that began in Anaheim and ended in Placentia last Wednesday night when the suspect’s vehicle collided with another car, killing its driver, a 60-year-old Placentia resident.
A screen shot from a video circulating on social media depicting a small child falling from the passenger side of a moving vehicle at the intersection of N. Euclid Street and W. Malvern Avenue in Fullerton.
(Fullerton Police Department)
• A La Habra mother was arrested Sunday after Fullerton police became aware of a video taken on the morning of Jan. 20 depicting a toddler falling out of an SUV onto the road. Anyone who may have witnessed it is asked to contact Det. H. Rios at (714) 738-6782 or hrios@fullertonpd.org. Anonymous tips can be left at (855) 847-6227.
• A sentencing hearing was set for today for Orange County convicted bank robber Moundir Kamil, 56, who ran a nearly $1-million fraud scheme targeting surfers at Southern California beaches, City News Service reported.
SPORTS 
Anaheim Ducks’ goalie Ville Husso (33) is scored on as Edmonton Oilers’ Matt Savoie (22) and Ducks’ Drew Helleson (14) watch the puck go in the net during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton on Monday.
(JASON FRANSON/AP)
• The Edmonton Oilers claimed a 7-4 victory at home over the Ducks on Monday, ending Anaheim’s seven-win streak, the Associated Press reported in the L.A. Times.
• The wrestling team from Fountain Valley did well at the recent Five Counties Tournament. Issac Torres, Kavi Garvey and Mikel David Uyemora won their respective weight classes, leading Fountain Valley to a third-place finish overall.
• In girls’ high school sports, Newport Harbor’s water polo team captured the title at the Newport Invitational, Huntington Beach’s soccer team remained undefeated after winning a game against Edison and Costa Mesa’s basketball team claimed an overtime victory over Garden Grove.
LIFE & LEISURE 
Claire Arata, 30, of Aliso Viejo, has her hair “Styled for Surgery” by stylist Loni Kohlmer at Jamestown Grace the Beauty Collective in Costa Mesa last Thursday, the day before she underwent successful brain surgery.
(James Carbone)
• Hoag neurosurgery patients can take advantage of a unique offering dubbed “Styled for Surgery” that gives them the opportunity for a specialized hair stylist to ready them for the operation. My colleague Matt Szabo interviewed patient Claire Arata and stylist Loni Kohlmer last Thursday to learn more about the program, which he shares in this story.
• Din Tai Fung is expanding to a third Orange County location with a Feb. 7 opening at at 812 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine. Reservations can be made at dtf.com/en-us/locations/irvine.
• People waited up to two hours in long lines for the grand opening of Ralph’s Coffee last week at the Ralph Lauren store at Fashion Island.
CALENDAR 
Runners in the 2022 Surf City Marathon, left, and runners in half marathon, right, finish alongside each other. The joint marathons take place Sunday.
(James Carbone)
• The Surf City USA Marathon and Half Marathon will take place this Sunday, Feb. 1 in Huntington Beach. For more information, visit the event’s website.
• Laguna Beach Music Festival, co-presented by Laguna Beach Live! and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, is scheduled for next week, Feb. 2-7, at various venues.
• Anaheim is hosting the Orange County Black History Parade & Unity Festival on the Center Street Promenade on Saturday, Feb. 7. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. More details can be found here.
KEEP IN TOUCH
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