News

Last Night Council Voted to Spend $8m on a Pedestrian Bridge (and it only gets worse from there)

After a long recess (and plenty of work, which is most of what drug me away for so long!): I’m back.  I apologize for the lack of quality content recently, but I’m back now.  Let’s get down to business. Last night, at the City Council Meeting on 11/19/2019, Mayor Diane Dixon presided over a council meeting that was truly painful …

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Citizen Launches “Save Our Summer” Campaign, as Schoolboard Tries to Inch Into Children’s Summertime

This weekend, I met with Chris Keener, local activist and sponsor of the Save Our Summer campaign for the Newport-Mesa School system.  Recently, the school board has been trying to shorten summer vacations in order to “reduce stress” for students in Newport-Mesa– to the tune of chopping out a whopping 2 weeks off the end of the longtime summer, according …

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Newport Seeks to Double Water Rate Charges on its Citizens

Remember Newport’s water supply that we’ve been writing about for years?   The one where we could get cleaner water from Costa Mesa at half the cost? Instead of cutting your water bill in half and providing cleaner water while eliminating $45 million in ongoing line maintenance costs for our city on line repairs and employees, Newport Beach City Council is …

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Happy Veterans Day, Today!

Veterans Day

Yesterday the Marines may have gotten their day (and happy birthday to them!), but today is dedicated to all veterans.  In fact, if you are a vet, many companies would like to honor you on this day dedicated to you and your service.  Here are a few nationally recognized names, and their attempt at giving back: • Get a free …

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Why is Newport Beach Still Using More Expensive Less Clean Water?

California Water Drought

For over a decade, Mesa Water– who already provides about 9% of Newport’s water service– has been wanting to partner with Newport Beach to provide water services for the area.  Why?  Because one of their biggest costs to deliver water isn’t the water itself– it’s literally keeping the operation going to clean, pump, and service the water base station.  This …

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Newport Beach Drinking Water Contaminated

The Environmental Working Group has recently released their water reports for Newport Beach, and the results are not good.  They have found 24 contaminants in our drinking water, with 13 of them exceeding EWG Recommended Guidelines.  Of note, many of these contaminants in our water supply (like Chloroform or the chemical that made Erin Brockovich famous, Chromium!) have zero federal …

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BJ’s Closing on Balboa Peninsula

A sad note that after 41 years of service to the Balboa Peninsula, the BJ’s Pizza at 106 Main Street will be closing.  The Balboa Pier restaurant was a classic for many, and while competing with a young and energetic pizza environment next door cannot be an easy task, many insiders note that the opening of Cruisers actually added another …

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Don’t Forget to “Fall Back” TONIGHT!

Remember that Saturday tonight– technically Sunday morning– we set our clocks BACK by one hour, so that 1:59am actually happens twice in one day. Daylight savings has to do with energy savings, particularly in old factories.  By slightly adjusting the clock to account for the changes in the sunrise and sunset times, employers were able to save money on (then-very-expensive) heating and …

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Hail in Huntington

This morning, at about 8:30am, hail was reported in our neighboring city, Huntington Beach by SaveNewporter Stephen Schnack. Sure, this wasn’t the “hailstorms of lore”, but hail in Southern California is a rarity only seen once every 5 years or so, so this event is unique and fun! Did you see it?

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Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween, beachdwellers! Tonight is a special night and remains one of my favorite holidays, to this day!  Remember that some people still use “live” candles in jack-o-lanterns, so baggy-clothed costumes for the young ones need to be watched carefully to ensure they don’t get too close (and also so they don’t trip!).  Inspect all candy.  Smile.  Greet your neighbors. …

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