Audi Fletcher Jones has opened a new auto dealership at the former Autoplex site located at 375 Bristol Street in Costa Mesa.

“We welcome Audi Fletcher Jones to our community and are delighted to have them join the many successful auto dealerships who call Costa Mesa home,” Mayor Sandy Genis said.

Audi Fletcher Jones revamped the existing building with a variety of improvements.

The dealership occupies a majority of the site, retaining a few of the existing tenants such as Sandwich World.

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckus told a Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce breakfast crowd that state laws that make it harder for law enforcement to put criminals in jail are bad news for communities where crime is now on the rise and he warned that similar laws could be passed in November.

Speaking to chamber members gathered at the Costa Mesa Country Club, Rackauckus decried the passage of AB 109, which allows early release of those convicted of so-called victimless crimes and Proposition 47, a statewide measure that reclassified a whole list of felonies to misdemeanors.

“It’s a big problem and it’s a growing problem,” Rackauckus said of the spike in the number of offenders who are either back on the street or getting slaps on the wrists for burglary and robbery. “Crime is on the increase.”

The district attorney said tougher laws passed in the 1990s, like the Three Strikes law that sent criminals to jail for life after three major offenses, had brought the crime rate down to historic lows. But he said the latest measures are making it harder for law enforcement to do its job and reversing those years of progress.

“The Three Strikes law was great and put a lot of career criminals in prison,” he said. “It was part of a national wave to reduce crime.”

Rackauckus told the crowd that in 2015 his staff of 800 prosecutors and investigators reviewed 70,000 cases. Of those cases, 58,000 charges were filed with a 92% felony conviction rate. 

He also said he has worked with other DAs to get a measure on the ballot, Proposition 66, that would make the death penalty more efficient.

But he warned of a competing measure, Proposition 62, that would eliminate the death penalty and Propositon 57, which if passed would make parole hearings easier to get for those behind bars.

That measure would potentially make 35,000 to 45,000 criminals eligible for parole. 

On Wednesday morning March 16, several hundred civic, business and elected leaders, dignitaries and war veterans celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Heroes Hall veteran exhibit that have a permanent home at the OC Fair & Event Center.

“This is dedicated to the honor and sacrifices to those who served our country,” said Michele Richards, the vice president of business development for the fair and event center.

Richards was one of a number of speakers who included board members Doug La Belle and Nick Beradino and Bolton Colburn, who runs the Exhibits and Education Department at the fair and event center.

The groundbreaking duties for what will be the county’s first museum dedicated to veterans fell to those who served in wars from Afghanistan to World War II.

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Those veterans included one of the last remaining  Tuskegee Airmen, Robert Friend, Korean War vet Robert Dugan, Vietnam vet Frank Orzio, Desert Storm vet Douglas Wooley and Claudia Acosta of the U.S. Army.

The OC Fair & Event Center was once part of the Santa Ana Army Air base, a 1,300-plus acre training facility that was active during World War II. That base is now home to the fairgrounds, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa High School, Davis Elementary and TeWinkle Park.

“As the former home of the Santa Ana Army Air Base, the OC Fair & Event Center is a natural fit for the Heroes Hall Exhibit. We are honored to host this historic exhibit and look forward to seeing it become a reality in the coming months,” the fair’s CEO Kathy Kramer said in a statement.

The exhibit is expected to encompass more than 12,000 square feet with indoor/outdoor exhibit space. The former “Memorial Gardens” building will be relocated and reconstructed as part of the overall exhibit, which will also include memorabilia and tributes to California veterans.

Crews are expected to break ground in March with an expected completion date of Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, 2016. The exhibit is expected to attract more than 1.5 million visitors each year.

In 2015, the OC Fair & Event Center Board voted in favor of a $2 million contribution to start the funding efforts for Heroes Hall.

The Board also approved the creation of the Heroes Hall Veterans Foundation to lead in fundraising for the ongoing maintenance and operation of Heroes Hall.

The city of Costa Mesa donated $25,000 toward the project, one of many local entities who have showed their support.

To learn more about how to donate and for periodic updates on the Heroes Hall exhibit click here.

Costa Mesa Assistant CEO Rick Francis told attendees of the monthly Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Boost that the city is working hard through community outreach and with the help of clergy and others to address the problems of homelessness here.

“We are willing to do our fair share and we will never back down from that,” Francis told the group gathered at the Costa Mesa Country Club on Thursday morning. “But if every city took care of their own, this problem would be a lot easier to manage.”

Francis noted that recent counts of homeless in Costa Mesa show a 45 percent increase in that population, but his presentation highlighted the success of the city’s outreach efforts and the work of the Network for Homeless Solutions, a city-sponsored group that includes, clergy, code enforcement, police and city outreach staff.

For example since 2013, the city was able to house 122 homeless people and reconnect 31 people with family members. From June of 2015 through December, volunteers clocked upward of 880 hours helping the homeless.

He pointed out to the audience several of the factors that lead to homelessness, including the price of housing, underemployment, a dramatic increase in drug use and abuse, especially heroin, and sober living home operators who have clients that drop out and go back onto the streets.

Changes in legislation to address prison overcrowding have also led to problems as criminal offenders spend less time incarcerated and are free to commit crimes more quickly.

Joining Francis at the breakfast were members of the city’s Network for Homeless Solutions, including Bill Nelson of Fresh Beginnings Ministry, Ian Stevenson of Trellis and Muriel Ullman, the city’s homeless liaison. City CEO Tom Hatch and Fire Chief Dan Stefano also attended the breakfast.