The Newport Beach Police Department Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint Friday, August 19th, 2016 at an undisclosed location in Newport between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. DUI Checkpoints are claimed to reduce drunk driving mostly by deterrent, but also serve to actively arrest those who are driving under the influence.  They also cause significant traffic delays, …

This morning, I received a call from the City Clerk to inform me that the OC Registrar of Voters had confirmed my proposal signatures and that I am officially on the ballot for Newport Beach City Council in November.  It has been a lot of hard work fighting back the crazy policies over the last several years– everything from attempts …

It’s that time of year when politics heats up, and Newport’s city council race is already having its first debates/forums this year, starting tomorrow. On Tuesday the 16th at 7:30am, The Newport Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the first debate at the Newport Beach Public Library next to City Hall, at 1000 Avocado Avenue Newport Beach, CA 92660.  It’s requested to email Pam Smith …

In politics, all candidates tell everyone that they want to remain positive. A politician doesn’t want to come off like a negative person. So where do all these negative ads come from that we see every two years? The dirty secret: they are friends of the candidates.  With just a few exceptions, negative ads are only used against people who are already …

TONIGHT is the peak night to watch the Perseid meteor shower!  (It will continue until the 14th, but tonight is really “the night”!).  The moon will set at 12:28am tonight– so we should be getting a very clear view, too! You can best view the Perseids by looking towards the Persues constellation, at a direction of Northeast around the time of midnight. Maximum meteors: …

Watching the Olympic games?  Of course you are.  Here are some fun Olympic facts from right here in our hometown: Newport Beach, with a population of about 87,000 produced 7 Olympians this year, or about 1 Olympian for every 12,428 people. Team USA has 554 members from a US population of 318.9M, or about 1 Olympian for every 575,631 people. So, Newport Beach …

Sunday, August 7th is the the day the world-famous Hi Time Wine Cellar Chili Cookoff is happens from noon until 5pm! The 10th annual celebration goes to benefit the Boys and Girls Club in the harbor area.  Last year, the event raised over $35,000 and in 2014 over $23,000!  Hopes are this year will even surpass that.  Admission is cash only and is $10 to …

It seems that Saturday afternoon between 1pm and 6pm, the MegaYacht called Invictus moored up next to the Lido Isle bridge. The yacht is owned by Rick Caruso, builder of “The Grove”, and carries over 50,000 gallons of fuel, powered by twin Caterpillar 3516 main engines.  This gives the beast a 5,000 nautical mile range at 12knots (14mph).  The five-story yacht measures an eye-popping …

The Heartfelt Cardiac Project is donating their time for the kids/families of Newport Beach & the surrounding areas tomorrow.  The low cost to free & has saved many lives by diagnosing silent but deadly heart issues in kids, teens & their families (normally $1,500). Thank you to Newport resident Heather Maves for bringing this to my attention.  Heather got involved after …

Monday the city held a meeting at the Seabase located at the Newport Sea Base on PCH to discuss the future of Mariner’s Mile.  The city decided that the area was in dire need of redevelopment– right after a large land purchase was made by a developer. Before the meeting, several citizens wrote in to me about their concern and suspicion …