Top Stories

Pedersen Drops Another Bomb on Dixon

Wow, if you didn’t catch last night’s council meeting,  you really missed it.  I’ll let Jon Pedersen just explain it in this column, this is straight from the sheet he read off: Mayor Muldoon, Council Today I want to discuss the environment, in particular our harbors and our beaches, for without them we surely would not be Newport Beach. There …

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How Newport Government Works. (Part 1)

Recently, there has been a lot of confusion about how local government works and who votes on what– this seems to stem from the multiple meetings with Dog Beach, which is definitely well beyond Civics 101 that you might have read previously, so I’ll do my best to explain this with as little ambiguity as possible! First, we’ve got cities. …

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The Bike Ban: By the Numbers

Back in February of this year in her Townhall meeting, Councilwoman Diane Dixon proposed getting rid of all bicycles on the boardwalk.  I asked how many injuries happen per year in order to warrant this, and she said she had no idea, but that it was “a whole lot, trust me”. So, I utilized the Public Document Request Act and …

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28ft Boat Gets Stranded on Shore: The REAL Story

Early Monday morning, a 28ft boat crashed onto the shores of Newport Beach by 12th Street.  Details were scarce at the scene, but locals were all repeating a similar story: The boat was from Dana Point (despite the “San Diego” on the boat tail), and was ejected from Catalina due to running over a buoy.  Running over a buoy is not …

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3rd Annual 7th Street Fundraiser gives over $8,500 for Cancer Research

The 3rd annual 7th St Party just keeps getting better and better!  This year the party (better known as the 3rd Annual Clam Jam) raised over $8,500 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Thrown on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, the party saw hundreds of attendees as the entire block of 7th and Oceanfront was shut down to traffic. …

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New Wedge Tree to be Planted

Wedge Tree by Eric Thulander

On February 17th at 3:35pm, the famous Wedge Tree was overcome by 60mph winds and the heaviest rains Newport has seen in 20 years, getting uprooted and falling beyond any hope of repair or restoration. Shortly afterward, I was contacted by Alan Buchanan asking if I could convince the city to allow him to take home the trunk of the tree …

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4am Last Call in Newport?

If you’ve been watching the social media feeds or headlines of those who report on California State politics (rather than here, where we focus almost exclusively on Newport politics), then you have doubtlessly heard that the California Senate has passed SB384 which will allow alcohol sales until 4am, just like New York City. (side note: Here’s a map of the Last Call times …

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Big Sponsors Enlist for Pet of the Week!

What could be a better deal than rescuing a dog in need for just $100? How about immediately getting $100 in free food just for doing the right thing? SaveNewport has just partnered up with Just Food for Dogs who love our Newport pups so much that they are doing just that! “Wait a minute, Mike, are you finally monetizing SaveNewport?” …

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Balboa Island Parade- Sunday at 11am

This Sunday, June the 4th at 11am, the 24th Annual Balboa Island Parade will take place! This parade features a spirit 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 …

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A Tribute to Tim Hamilton

On Monday, May 29th at 11:07, Tim Hamilton passed away due to a heart attack. I met Tim at the traditional Blackies Thanksgiving celebration several years ago when he– a concerned resident– decided that he had had enough of the city council’s antics which served to routinely restrict more and more liberty. It turned out, we actually had several mutual …

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