News

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 …

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 …

  TONIGHT, Wednesday June 3rd, there will be a large fundraiser for Ben Carlson, our lost lifeguard.  The event will be held at the Balboa Bay Club from 6pm-9pm, and is open to the public.  There is no cover charge and there are no reservations.  Simply come in, grab a drink, and mingle with those who are there to pay …

Monday morning, at least one Oarfish measuring at least 15 feet washed ashore to Catalina Island. Reports of a second, 17-foot long Oarfish have widely circulated but are yet unconfirmed and may be a case of misreporting on the same fish. Oarfish are incredibly rare and are said to beach themselves only before large seismic events. Several recent large earthquakes …

Newly elected Newport Beach councilwoman Diane Dixon wrote commentary for the Daily Pilot explaining that nobody actually knew what was inside the $282 million budget which increased taxes, increased expenses, and increased public employee unions– but defended that she passed it anyway, saying that council can fix it and amend it later on through the budget-amendment process, rather than fulfilling the seemingly-arduous …

On Thursday morning, construction crews demolished an iconic tree on Balboa Peninsula Point.  This tree was not only beloved by neighbors, but also had several species of federally protected birds nesting in it, and two types of herons, covered under the Federal Migratory Bird Act (which basically says you can’t mess with migratory bird habitats). A woman stood under the …

Last night, Duffy, Peotter, and Muldoon stood by helplessly as Diane Dixon abandoned her pledge for reform and fiscal responsibility and voted to increase taxes, increase spending, and increase our public employee union size– all in one fell swoop.  By doing this– again– she has completely betrayed all of her campaign pledges and also her campaign runningmates.  The spending bill last night– …