Balboa has been known to be the center of entertainment for the better part of a century. Built on a fishing and shipping industry, this beautiful spot gave the start to some of the worlds most famous personalities– even including the Righteous Brothers, and Dick Dale, pictured here.  Heck, all the way back to the 1930s we were even inventing international dance …

Last night, city council passed the authorization to request city staff to begin gathering proposals for regulations to build the Lights Out ordinance. This ordinance seeks to establish “performance standards and regulations specific to balboa peninsula in order to address the affects of on-sale alcoholic beverage service.” This is targeted only to establishments open past 11pm. This is not the final …

Your presence is desperately needed tonight to speak against the Lights Out ordinance which seeks to apply additional rules and regulations to businesses open past 11pm on Balboa Peninsula. We are a tourist destination and people come here to have a good time.  People enjoy good times, and reasonable people enjoy others having a good time, too.  Because we are such a densely populated …

A new ordinance proposal which people are calling “Lights Out at 11pm” seeks to establish “performance standards and regulations” on Balboa Peninsula businesses open past 11pm… I think we all can see where this is going. How on earth can they do this; you ask: They can’t simply cause a business to change their hours, right? Simple: The proposal will mandate an update …

What: Jupiter will be so close to earth that you can see its moons with a good pair of binoculars or a telescope.  Astronomers call the closest point each year a planets “Opposition”, but we think it’s pretty darn cool, ourselves 🙂 When: Tonight at 10:09pm PST. Where: If you can, get as high up as possible to sit above the …

Today is Ronald Reagan’s birthday– but did you know of the local role our beach culture played in the ascension of arguably the greatest president in generations? Most people don’t know this, but Reagan got his start as a sports announcer for the Chicago Cubs during their Spring Training. Where did they train? Wrigley field, of course! No, not that …

Last night’s meeting was disorganized, to say the least. I arrived on-time to a packed venue with standing room only. I found no agenda packet in any easily-accessible area. They could have been there, but they were certainly nowhere near the entrance, and I was not about to wade through the crowd on a mission to find a paper that …

Police have a tough job.  They constantly struggle with who is a threat, and who isn’t.  While we all hate speeding tickets, and parking tickets (and noise enforcement on the 4th of July!), there is one thing where Newport Beach Police really shine: Overseeing a low crime rate.  Last year was the lowest-crime year Newport Beach’s RECORDED HISTORY.  That’s pretty awesome. Here’s …

Did you know that as one of the final acts of the previous council, they gave away the Balboa Parking Lot?  Yes, the one where Balboa Market used to stand, on the corner of Palm and Balboa. The old City Council gave a last-minute no-bid contract to ExplorOcean giving them this space averaging less than $360 per year for 7 years, and only $2,500 per …

Yesterday, a three-judge panel of California’s 4th District Court of Appeal reversed the lower court’s judgment and reinstated the city Planning Commission’s approval of dancing and extended patio hours at Woody’s Wharf. Yes– we have won, yet again. The Previous City Council had banned the practice when a new development began being built next door.  A source that asked us to withhold …