Advocacy

Heather Castillo I am heartbroken that all of the focus from the newspapers and officials regarding the Orange County Humane Society has centered on the building and how clean it is. Although this is a very important issue to ensure that animals are kept healthy and comfortable this is not the only issue. An equally important issue that I and other former volunteers have been trying to bring attention to recently is the lack of exercise and socialization for the animals.

Rep. Chris Cox is now playing the waiting game, after a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday held a hearing but did not vote on whether to confirm him as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cox was nominated June 1 to lead the SEC. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs questioned him along with Roel C. Campos and Annette Nazareth, who are Democratic nominees for seats on the commission. The banking committee could vote to confirm the three nominees Thursday, after which the full Senate would vote.

We’re willing to agree with the Orange County Board of Education’s decision to oppose commemorating May 22 as Harvey Milk Day. That said, Alexandria Coronado, the board president who unleashed a tirade last week about schools supporting the homosexual “lifestyle,” owes her community a major apology. A state bill that recently passed the Legislature would establish a day of “special significance” in schools to honor the slain gay-rights leader, along with other days honoring teachers, the California poppy and environmentalist John Muir.

GETTING INVOLVED runs periodically in the Independent. If you'd like information about getting your organization listed, call (714) 965-7170. Access to Sailing Inc. offers sailing programs for disabled children and adults. Duncan Milne, (714) 722-5371. Adult Day Services offers therapeutic programs for memory-impaired adults. Volunteers are needed to assist with group activities, clerical and reception work, board committees and advocacy. (714)

Patricia Harney, the president of the Fountain Valley School District?s board of trustees and a longtime teacher and parent in the district, died Friday at the age of 72. A teacher at three of the district?s schools from 1968 to 1996, Harney was elected to the board in 2002 and served until her death. She also co-founded the Fountain Valley Educational Foundation, which raises funds for art, music and science programs at all the district?s schools. Supt. Marc Ecker, who served as Harney?

Name: Jim Moreno Birthplace: San Francisco Residence: Huntington Beach Occupation: college trustee Education: associate's, bachelor's and    A.A., B.A., M.P.A. Experience as an educator: taught adult school and language to Medical personnel, and have also taught English and citizenship at Oak View Library Previously elected or appointed positions: appointed deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman; Huntington Beach Community Participation Advisory Board member; elected to the Coast Community College Board of Governors in 2006.

The president of a Huntington Beach advocacy group has filed a complaint against the chairman of Southern California's largest water district, claiming he failed to properly report income he and his wife received from the water industry. Merle Moshiri, the president of Residents for Responsible Desalination, said she filed a complaint March 13 with the Fair Political Practices Commission against John Foley, the board chairman of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Nearly a dozen people asked the City Council to save a skateboard park next to Huntington Beach High School, but council members said it wasn’t up to them. Council members said the Huntington Beach Union High School District, which runs the school, plans to build a multi-million dollar stadium, which will nix the park. The council did vote unanimously to accept a deal on the agenda to terminate the park’s lease in exchange for the district paying to demolish the park and paying $75,000 toward a new one; however, council members said the park would still be lost if they hadn’t taken the deal.

Michele Marr For Lisa H. Iyer, the relationship between her spirituality and her advocacy for animals is so close she refers to it as a marriage. It's that relationship, along with her familiarity with and admiration for Matthew Scully's recently published book, "Dominion, The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy," that led The Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment to ask her to facilitate a discussion of the book.