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Tuesday, March 28, 2006

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN ORANGE COUNTY SHUT DOWN BY

MASSIVE WALKOUTS

Columnist reports high school students tried to

seize Treasurer/Tax Collector's office

By DUANE J. ROBERTS

duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com

SANTA ANA, CA -- Details are still sketchy, but it

appears that the Orange County Treasurer/Tax

Collector's office and a number of other government

agencies were shut down yesterday when Santa Ana high

school students flooded them in protest of

anti-immigration legislation being pushed in the U.S.

Congress.

According to Norberto Santana Jr., a columnist for The

Orange County Register, he received a "frazzled" call

yesterday from a person at the Treasurer/Tax

Collector's office who said the building was being

"stormed" by "hundreds" of students who were

"apparently trying to take it over":

One employee trying to

keep the horde out gets

a Mexican flag pole

jabbed into his arm.

Apparently, the entire

crowd then made their way

through the Civic Center

Plaza. In the main Hall

of Administration, the

Sheriff’s Deputies

guarding the hall kept

closed the doors for

the rest of the day {1}

John Moorlach, the Treasurer/Tax Collector, is quoted

as telling Norberto that "his entire staff, mainly

female, [was] totally freaked out from the scare. They

end up heading home at 1 p.m."

Moorlach, a Republican, is not only reputed to be a

close friend of Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, but is

also running for a seat on the Orange County Board of

Supervisors. He is favored to win over his opponent, a

fairly unknown member of the Stanton City Council.

Although this reporter was not in Santa Ana at the

times these massive walkouts occured, some major roads

that lead toward buildings that house City, State,

County and Federal government agencies were blocked

off as late as 7:00 pm in the evening.

At the Bristol and Civic Street intersection, units

from both the Santa Ana Police Department and

Federal Protective Services (the U.S. government

agency that protects federal property) prevented any

traffic from heading west into the downtown area.

An unconfirmed report alleges upwards of ten law

enforcement agencies deployed personnel to protect

government buildings from protesters. A patrol car

bearing what appeared to be the insignia of the Tustin

police was spotted parked on Bristol Street.

Although the mainstream media has offered some

accurate information about the Orange County walkouts,

they so far have completely downplayed or ignored the

massive amount of disruption these actions have caused

to business and government operations.

Nor has anything been reported so far about the

estimated two hundred cops who used armored cars and

horses to break up a peaceful and festive protest that

was taking place last night on a major street adjacent

to some of Santa Ana's poorest working class Mexican

neighborhoods.

#####

NOTES:

{1}

http://blogs.ocregister.com/buzz/2006/03/coffee_with_tom_3.html#more



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