Last year was a brutal one for small businesses, and as city governments are largely funded by riding on the backs of small businesses (and by siphoning off home equity taxes from homeowners via property tax), it wasn’t a good year for the city, either. So what gets slashed?  That is what is being discussed, currently. The city council will …

Say Yellow to my little friend! According to California State data, Orange County officially entered the “Yellow Tier” today, on May 20th. In order of most severe, the Governor’s office alone has created a tiering system to rank California’s counties.  From most-to-least severe, they are: Blue – Stay At Home Purple – Widespread Red – Substantial Orange – Moderate and Yellow …

This weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Super Panga will be open for a sneak preview from 11am to 3pm. This highly anticipated opening at the old Gelato shop between Dory Deli and Blackies near McFadden Square on Balboa Peninsula will be the debut of the taco bar touted as highly-authentic Mexican food, and a new opening by the Lounge Group, …

Wednesday morning, sometime between 12:15am and 6:15am, there is a planned launch from North Vandenberg Airforce Base for an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM Missile. This operational test launch by the Air Force Global Strike Command is to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system, according to Air Force Global Strike Command. Launches usually occur as close …

The Wedge wasn’t the only one experiencing big waves this week. As the Wedge topped eye-popping waves coming in at an estimated 18 feet on Saturday (before the “doubling up” that the Wedge is famous for), the signature-counting in the recall effort was ongoing, and Monday, word was officially released that enough validated signatures had been tallied to proceed with …

Red Tide happens a lot, but the Lingulodinium polyedrum bacteria isn’t always present in them.  This time, it’s there, and that’s the cause of the Red Tide Glow were on display in Newport Beach Harbor last night.  The bioluminescence event was happening last night in both the harbor and the oceanside shoreline, bringing beautiful waves to life with the classic “blue hue” that red tide events …

The Newport Beach Police Department has issued a press release and stern warning about driving while high, recognizing “4/20” as the unofficial marijuana “holiday”. Expect DUI Saturation Patrols throughout the city, and concentrated in areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions and/or arrests. The cost of a ride home is cheap. Drivers caught driving impaired can expect the impact of …

Rupert: The famous black swan of Newport, September 13th 2006 is was the last time anyone had seen one of the famous birds in Newport Beach, as it was run over and killed by the Harbor Patrol boat while responding to a call to a body in the bay. In recent months, 5 more black swans have been seen, and …

At the last city council meeting, the city council voted to create yet another Ad Hoc Committee to study “Short Term Rentals”, but only on Newport Island.  Making law specific to a certain region or certain people has been repeatedly deemed unconstitutional (a violation of the Equal Protections Clause, as interpreted by the Supreme Court), as everyone is supposed to …

Orange you glad it didn’t say red? According to California State data, Orange County officially entered the “Orange Tier” on March 29th. In order of most severe, the Governor’s office alone has created a tiering system to rank California’s counties.  From most-to-least severe, they are: Blue – Stay At Home Purple – Widespread Red – Substantial Orange – Moderate and Yellow …