Profiles : CHARLES EMBICK: BUSINESSMAN : For Him, Convenience and Affordability Are It

Charles Embick feels at home in the hustle and bustle of downtown Santa Ana, where for 16 years he has owned and operated Paper Jungle, a typesetting and printing business on Grand Avenue.

Embick, 53, has worked for local politicians, businesses and civic organizations and said he knows just about every top official--”from the mayor to the fire chief.”

“From a business standpoint, Santa Ana is the hub of Orange County,” Embick said. “It’s the county seat and a tremendous place for business.”

Still, Embick said he is troubled by the city’s reputation for gangs and drugs, which he said leads outsiders to judge the city unfairly.

“They don’t realize there are nice things about this city too,” he said. “I sense that people are nice in general here.”

Embick said Santa Ana faces many of the same problems--traffic, overcrowding and racial discrimination--that affect urban cities throughout the nation.

“If they would fix the traffic situation, that would reduce a lot of the tension,” he said. “I also see the city as divided, which happens in every big city when it gets congested and you start packing in people and living like rats.”

But Embick said he believes Santa Ana has distinct advantages. It is affordable, and its central location in the county makes it convenient to reach tourist attractions like Disneyland and the beaches.

And although he works at his business six days a week, Embick always finds time to play a round of golf at Willowick Golf Course on 5th Street. He is an active member of the local Rotary Club.

Embick and his wife, Glenda, have raised three children in a home on the edge of town, not far from Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza. They have lived there since 1973. After retiring in three or four years, however, he plans to move his family to property he owns in Riverside County.