Lido Live desperately needs your help this Thursday.  They are applying for a permanent beer license and are going to the Planning Commission.  PLEASE be there to speak out in support of them and their ability to entertain guests with not just fantastic concerts, but the ability to relax with a beer or two, too!  The meeting will be this Thursday, the 18th, …

We haven’t seen THIS volume of tuna crab wash up on shore since the late 70s. While unusually warm weather and high tides can bring these critters up– and even in droves– to see them carpet the beach with this kind of coverage is extremely rare.  Most tuna crab are dead or dying after the tides left them stranded on …

On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission reviewed “Plan 17” that was presented by the City of Newport Beach. This plan included 64 rings– 32 of them containing fire, and 32 containing charcoal. Four of the new rings will be added on the Back Bay, leaving the oceanfront with 28, rather than the 60 we had just a few years ago. …

It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that we lost more than half of the oceanside fire rings at the Coastal Commission vote. Here’s the breakdown: Currently, we have 60 fire rings, all of them wood-burning (as of the vote on Jan 13th).  They are divided between Balboa Pier and CdM. Assuming the CdM vote goes the …

Tonight’s city council meeting is going to include an item which will reduce transparency in government and erode the ability of the public to effectively participate in council sessions.  The most questionable item on todays agenda is called– ironically– “Open Meeting Policies”.  However, what it states (http://novusagendapublic.newportbeachca.gov/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=5780&MeetingID=672) is that the mayor will have the ability to shuffle items on the agenda, …

Less than one month after hitting 3500 Facebook subscribers, we have now exceeded 3,750.  The momentum is growing, and I could not be more excited about it!  Our local government is the one that has the most immediate affect on our lives, and being involved here really and truly makes a difference. When I started getting involved with local politics, I didn’t …

This Sunday, June the 7th at 11am, the 22nd Annual Balboa Island Parade will take place.   This parade features a spirit of America like no other, and honors local business people, social groups, and elected officials. The parade is about 2.5 miles long and marches on about a half-mile of road, making it the most feature-packed parade per-square-mile in America.  The parade takes …

Today, 71 years ago, the United States and our allies joined forces for the Normandy Landings, code named Operation Neptune.  This operation was the largest seaborne invasion in the history of the world, resulting in five allied beachheads being established in Normandy. Newport Beach was also a major contributor to the war effort. Many of our docks and shipbuilders were used to …

Did you know that an ocean cyclone touched down right here in SoCal? In 1939– an El Nino year– a hurricane-turned-tropical-storm touched down in Long Beach, sending waves throughout Southern California so strong that it actually destroyed the Newport Pier, washing away an entire 500 foot stretch of the 1050 ft structure. Cool fact: Handrails were added sometime in the 1980s– pretty recent! …

Last night, newly elected councilwoman Diane Dixon sent out a Wildly Misleading Letter to her mass email list.  This email contained all kinds of deceiving information on crime. There are two major claims in the letter, but there is also an underlying deception that I will clear up afterwards.  Let’s take care of the two headlining dubious claims, first: 1) CLAIM: “Area …