.
A dim memory of a long-lost past? When they pry it out of our cold dead hands, maybe!
Enough already! Enough of a few, spoiled, rich, well-connected Newport Beach residents – and no it’s not everyone in Newport, or even most of you, I know it’s just a few troublemakers – interfering with the lives of the rest of us in this County!
- I mean, just this past couple months, there’s, first, THIS:
Unsatisfied with the crazy steep ascent they already make us take leaving John Wayne Airport to spare their beachfront homes our noise, now they’re trying to get the FAA to add two new sharp turns to that (as described in this opinion piece pithily entitled “If Airport Noise Disturbs You, Don’t Live Near an Airport.”)
- And then, as you probably know, there’s also THIS:
All of Southern California is now in serious danger of losing the right to enjoy bonfires on the beach – including in neighboring Huntington where NOBODY has complained – just because a few wealthy Newport beachdwellers don’t like the smoke in what they consider to be their front yards, and probably more to the point don’t like us poor people tramping through what they consider their front yards.
But, Huntington is not Newport, in so many ways…
For one thing we Huntington folks have got 1994’s Measure C, spearheaded by Debbie Cook, Connie Boardman and others, which forbade building on beaches or parks without a public vote. That’s why we don’t have spoiled rich people living right on our beach, complaining about bonfires. (This is also the reason you can drive down PCH from Warner to Brookhurst and SEE THE OCEAN, unlike in most of the rest of the County.)
We also have dramatically different Councils: While Newport’s all-Republican Council quickly danced to the tune of the wealthy homeowners who had elected them, OUR majority-Democratic, majority-environmentalist Council (elected in large part due to the work of the late lamented Gus Ayer) strongly defends its fire pits. And, not to get all partisan on y’all, let’s give our three Republicans their due – Harper, Carchio and Sullivan – our Council is unanimous! (As well they should be, given the economic impact gelding our beach would cause.)
Finally, how serious of a health or environmental threat could the bonfires be when they’re defended by longtime champions of the environment like Connie Boardman, Joe Shaw, and Jill Hardy?
This Bonfire Ban is Class Warfare!
This is more of the same old class warfare we see every day, of the wealthy against the rest of us. (Us 99%.) An afternoon and evening on the beach with a bonfire is a pleasure within the reach of any Southland family, SO much cheaper than a trip to Disneyland (which, as my colleague Cynthia Ward points out, gets an exemption from the AQMD for their much-more-polluting nightly fireworks.) And a sliver of the privileged elites are trying to take that away from all of us, on the thinnest of pretexts.
And this affects much more than Huntington, much more than Orange County! Anyone who’s been down to the beach on the weekend know that it draws people of all races and economic conditions, from Los Angeles, from the 909, whites, Latinos, blacks, Asians, everybody. It is a great egalitarian commons that must be defended.
Well, still… How Did This Happen?
How did we make the quantum leap from a few Newporters complaining about their own beach (which as far as I’m concerned they can do what they want with) to banning the fire pits EVERYWHERE? We’re still trying to figure out exactly how that jump happened. Back in August, when very few of us were paying attention, the NIMBYs went to the Coastal Commission, which told them to pound sand.
But as the resourceful elitists know full well, when you don’t get your way with one bureaucratic agency, there are plenty more to choose from, so next they tried the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) where they had MUCH better luck!
Bill Burke
The AQMD is chaired by powerful, doddering William “Bill” Burke, who took up the Newporters’ cause with a vengeance, telling a reporter – before any hearings or studies had even be held – that he was “100% sure” all bonfires would be banned. Until just recently, Burke also served on the Coastal Commission, a gig he appears to have got in return for favors to the corrupt former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez.
Having risen to fame and fortune as LA Marathon boss, Burke is equal parts vindictive buffoon and way past his prime. The charitable explanation to our question above is that he was so moved by speaking with a Newporter diagnosed with emphysema that he immediately declared jihad on ALL beach bonfires within his purview, but who knows what else could be involved?
Chris Epting, the popular local historian/journalist, TV personality, and author of 19 books, has been on this case like white on sand, and has been reveling in his newfound role as activist and gadfly. (Cynthia asked me yesterday, “Why do we historians keep turning into activists?” I suggested, “Well, maybe you’ve got enough perspective to see how much more fucked-up things are getting?” And that answer seemed to satisfy her.)
That’s enough setup for a fun video break. First this famous one of Burke bizarrely comparing aerial views of Newport’s fire pits to his memories of carpet bombing in Vietnam, followed by Epting’s objections, and the ensuing melee:
*
Here’s another one of Chris confronting Burke and a couple other Board members at a lunch break, after being told contradictory things by other Board members. This is shortly after a meeting at which Burke asked every single pro-fire-ring speaker “how they would like propane,” and then misrepresented their confused reactions as “unanimous support” for his ridiculous idea of replacing wood-burning bonfires with propane tanks:
*
Where are we now? Recent developments…
A week or two ago, at Chris’ urging, Assemblyman Allan Mansoor and Senator Mimi Walters complained to the Attorney General about the conflict of Burke’s serving on two different Boards, AQMD and the Coastal Commission. Kudos to Allan and Mimi for standing up for the interests of the County’s people rather than a few of their wealthiest constituents.
The result was a little confusing – after protesting angrily that there was “no conflict,” and that he WOULDN’T resign, Burke then did resign – but from the Coastal Commission, and he did so in a letter mysteriously pre-dating Mansoor’s and Walters’ complaint. It’s also improper for him to leave the Coastal Commission rather than the board he’s served on the longest, the AQMD, and probably signals his digging in his heels on this particular fight.
But aside from chairman Burke and his loyal Vice-Chair Dennis Yates (former Chino Mayor), there are eleven other members on the Governing Board, including our own trusty Supervisor Shawn Nelson and the ubiquitous Santa Ana Mayor-for-life Miguel Pulido – eleven members who hopefully won’t want to accompany Burke on his draconian crusade. As we head toward a final June 7 decision, let’s focus on THEM in our postcards and phone calls. (More info on this blog soon…)
And now, shameless self-promotion!
THIS SUNDAY, April 28, from 4-6 pm, at the Huntington Beach Central Library, I’ll be doing the GREATEST PIANO CONCERT IN HISTORY – the “Concert to Save Huntington Beach’s Bonfires,” and I hope you can all come. During the intermission, both Chris Epting and HB Mayor Connie Boardman will be talking about this issue, and about our plans going forward. I’ll have some great guest musicians, and afterward we’ll all head over to Assemblyman Travis Allen’s “bonfire to save the bonfires,” at PCH and Newland across from the electrical plant. The program:
- Prokoviev’s Wild Sonata #7
- Led Zeppelin’s Rain Song
- Francois Poulenc’s beautiful Sonata for Flute and Piano (With Mary Palchak)
- (intermission – Chris Epting and Mayor Boardman speak)
- Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire singalong with Jared
- Chopin – Ballade #1 in G minor
- by request – my version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah mixed with the Hallelujah Chorus
- Pink Floyd – Echoes (1971)
- The Doors – Light My Fire (with everybody)
The South Coast AQMD (Bill Burke) wants to ban the air pollution from beach fire pits, but continues to allow about 3,000 pounds of toxic material to be burned in the air each night, over 200 times a year (Disneyland fiteworks).
From 1993 to 1996, the City of Newport Beach under the direction of the acting city manager Kevin Murphy, embarked on a plan that ultimately led to his demise. It was a long term plan to snuff out the out of town visitors to the city’s piers so they could be developed. It involved the city attorney cooking up section 11.20.60 of the municipal code and bamboozling the city council into adopting it. They wanted to make, of all things, fishing illegal on the piers. At the same time I watched parking meters come out down Balboa Blvd when the sewer pipes were replaced and not get put back until I made a call to the Coastal Commission. I drew the line in the sand and had a letter drafted and ready to mail to the acting Attorney General at the time, Dan Lungren, to request revocation of the Beacon Bay Bill-the city’s tideland grant if the fishing ban was enacted and turn Newport into a state beach. They have never implemented the illegal portions of the oridinance. The city manager shortly thereafter resigned and the fishing on the piers and parking still remain to this day.
The beaches are tidelands which is state property currently deeded to the city in a revocable agreement if the public trust is violated. Huntington is a dichotomy with both State and City beaches.
Most of what they do is a bluff. Is the right to a fire pit and a bonfire a qualified right, subject to the terms and conditions that the legislature deems necessary? Maybe not. But if you have a fishing pole in your hand and a fishing license, and a flashlight, and just maybe if you are cooking your catch, they may be in the grey area trying to run you off. Just a thought.
I say we call their bluff on this one. Banning the fires at the beach while Disney dumps all kinds of bizarre inorganic, metallic, toxic plumes nightly on the residents of Anaheim is sick. Get these CARB or AQMD bozos a room over on Harbor over at the humdinger or the fire station motel, a couple of bottles of the hard stuff, binoculars and a pen and pencil, with a defribulator on standby. Maybe, just maybe they will let up and Billy to roast a hot dog with his dad, or Johnny can get his first kiss, they way many of us did long before we had to spend 10 million on a pad so we could listen to the waves and fall in love in the afterglow. Some things are still worth fighting for. Those nights for me growing up down there were priceless.
I hate going to Newport for a bonfire anyway. The fire rings are too close together and there are too many people. Give me the uncrowded rings in HB and Bolsa Chica any day. Those Newport people are so dumb, if they spread the rings out the smoke wouldn’t be so bad. What we should do is sell the recycled fire logs at the beach, require people to burn that fuel instead of bringing their own and use that money to fund more lifeguards. In this “Freedom” chant HB says free and NB says …
I wonder if there might be an available remedy such as reducing the number of Newport rings (enough to still meet usual demand) and/or redeploying them somewhat. Why do the residents say that they think they need a full removal of them?
As to the SCAQMD, I provide a brief lesson in French: “bon” means GOOD!
They can do what they want in Newport, just leave the rest of us alone.
Newport people ain’t so dumb. We trusted a CHARTER city would work. Instead the NB Charter City Council is bullying and pushing everybody and everything around, which includes the ” step children,” our fire rings!
It is not NEWPORT PEOPLE!
It is the NB Charter City Council !
“This Bonfire Ban is Class Warfare!”
I call it crony enviro-mental-ism.
Those rich bastards hate the enviro-whackos, but they will hook-up with them when it suits their purposes.
*Folks…it goes like this: Dirty Diapers…..being burned in the Fire Pits…..Blue Doggie Bags with Fecal Matter being burned in the Fire Pits. Hard Plastic Objects….that contain Cancenigenics…..like Dolls from China, Tennis Shoes,
T-shirts, Hair Spray cans that explode……things like that. It ain’t all just a “weenie roast and burnt marshmellos….and who is going to watch all the trash that people bring down to the beach to burn in the fire pits. Mesquite, Illegal Composit Fire Logs, Pine Logs……ask your local Fire Fighter how much of this odor and smoke you should smell…or that of your family and friends.
We wish it was 1955 too. Hey, in those days….they didn’t even have Fire Rings..people would just dig up the sand and make their own Fire Pits….then
cover up the fire and residual charcoal with sand. Then on Monday’s the Sand Cleaning Machines came to sort out the burnt charcoal, coca cola bottles, beer cans and lost clothing articles. Toys and virtually anything under the sun would show up. This required the sand to be replaced every three years. As you might be familiar with “Brown Sand” as opposed to “White Sand”….you kind of get the idea. In those days….they had Tin Can Beach….which ran from the Huntington Bluffs….all the way to Sunset Beach. People lived in tilt up shacks and burned their food on the beach. Finally, when the Health Dept. had to close it down because of every known disease……..all that sand had to be carted off on barges and replaced with fresh white Caribbean….which many odd ball islands in the Caribbean had……for a song. Then places like Abu Dabi, Oman and Dubai……..figured they could do the same thing. Now the sand is very expensive. Very. And also getting more rare as we speak. Just look at Mauritius….in the 1970’s it had more white sand than anywhere on earth. Now, all they have left is burnt brown sand and they are not exporting sand anymore.
Sometimes…you do have to know…..”The Rest of the Story”!
Make those really nasty things illegal to burn – put up signs to that effect. And also put up signs that say be kind and gentle to the rich residents, so we can keep the fire rings open. Try that before you close them down.
How about making it an on-line permit system with reservations (number the rings) – charge a minimal fee to pay for enforcement. Post reasonable regulations there – like fires are not to be more than 2 ft. above thring – don’t burn treated wood – no pallets – etc.
Talk about the Nanny State! Enforcement won’t work. (BTW, this is “Bargaining”, the 3rd stage of Grief; move onto “Acceptance” for your peace of mind.)
As City Manager Dave Kiff said to the Coastal Commission, “Which of your grandchildren shall we give this job to? Patrolling the beach bonfires looking for carcinogens in the pits? And who will we assign to monitor this person’s long term health impact?”
MR. PETERS,
YOU ARE IN HUGE DENIAL!!!!
THE REAL HONEST ISSUE, FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE REAL BEACH AND COASTAL LONG TIME RESIDENTS KNOW, IS MOLD AND MOLD SPORES!!!!!! THERE IS MOISTURE THAT EVEN CREEPS INTO YOUR CLOSETS AND PENNY LOAFERS!!! THAT IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FOR RESPATORY PATIENTS and THOSE WITH RESPATORY PROBLEMS ON THE COAST!!! MOIST AND COLD AIR NOT GOOD FOR THOSE PEOPLE WITH RESPATORY ISSUES!
GRAB A HUGE CLUE!!!!
PLEASE DROP THIS OBSESSION OF YOURS, IT IS NOT VERY BECOMING!
PLEASE STOP YOUR MANIPULATION and ATTEMPT TO CONTROL!!!
IT SEEMS THAT YOU ARE MANIPULATING THIS OBSESSION FOR YOUR OWN BENEFIT ONLY!
YOU BOUGHT A HOUSE ON A STATE BEACH!!!
GET A HUGE CLUE!!!
GO AFTER YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT INSTEAD!!!
ARE YOU SURE YOUR HOUSE IS NOT ENCROACHING ON PUBLIC LAND?
IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBORS, THE COMMUNITY, and THE PUBLIC, YOUR EFFORTS WOULD GO INTO:
1.- CHANGING THE CITY COUNCIL
2.- PREVENTING THE SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR PLANT FROM RESTARTING UP. This is the real “TOXIC FIRE RING!” Look at what happened in Japan, the NUCLEAR RUNOFF HAS RUINED and CONTAMINATED THE PACIFIC OCEAN FOR EVER!!!
3.- PREVENT INCREASED PASSENGERS OUT OF JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT!
4.- PREVENT NEW CRAZY TAKE OFF OUT OF JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT!
5.- LOBBY and HELP IMPLEMENT LESS PASSENGERS OUT OF SNA!
6.- PREVENT THE DESTRUCTION OF BANNING RANCH, TO CONNECTING THE 55 fwy. and PCH! ,= MORE TRAFFIC = MORE EMISSIONS AND COASTAL SMOG!!! = DYING BABIES !!!
7.- HELP WITH SMOG CONTROL !
A Report released this month:
“AUTO EMISSIONS and SMOG KILL THE WHITE BLOOD CELLS OF INFANTS and FETUSES” !!!!
EMISSIONS AND SMOG KILLS BABIES !!!!!
FIRE RINGS / PITS DO NOT !!!
IT HAS BEEN PROVEN, MR. PETERS !!!
8.-STOP THE CRAZY and INSANE IDEA OF BRINGING CRUISE SHIPS TO NEWPORT !
9.- HELP PROTECT THE OCEAN IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE!
10.- HELP PROTECT OUR NATURAL ESTUARY, THE BACK BAY!
11.- VOLUNTEER AND VISIT SOME RESPATORY PATIENTS AT HOAG HOSPITAL OR UCI. WHERE NONE OF THOSE PATIENTS HAVE RESPATORY PROBLEMS OR ISSUES FROM OUR FIRE RINGS!!!!!!!
JUST TO NAME A FEW! TO HELP AND ENABLE YOUR CUNNING OBSESSIONS!!!
THESE ISSUES SHOULD KEEP YOU BUSY!
THINK BIG! LOVE BIG!
IT’S ABOUT LEARNING TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!!
THE NEWPORT RESIDENTS AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO WANT TO SAVE THE FIRE RINGS DO NOT APPRECIATE BEING MOCKED, RIDICULED, NOR CONDEMNED!!!
STOP PLAYING YOUR GAMES and WANTING ATTENTION AND DRAMA !!!!!
WE ALL KNOW YOU WOULD LIKE AN EXCLUSIVE BEACH. EMERALD BAY MAY BE MORE TO YOUR LIKING! IF YOU LIKE A GATED COMMUNITY TRY BIG CANYON, LEISURE WORLD, OR EVEN
PALM DESERT. LOTS OF GATED COMMUNITIES WITH WATERFRONT HOMES RIGHT ON THE GOLF COURSE PONDS/ LAKES!!! I HEARD NEW ORLEANS HAS SOME GREAT DEALS ON WATERFRONT PROPERTIES!
TRY CHURCH and SOME RECOVERY! YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF!
YOU MAY FIND YOUR SOUL! YOU WILL TOO BUSY AND OBSESSED WITH YOURSELF YOU WON’T HAVE TIME TO COMPLAIN !!!
GOD BLESS YOU,
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!
A REAL NEWPORT LOCAL!!!
Good stuff. Now, about your capslock…
“Crony enviromentalism” – you’re onto something there, skallywag.
Except that the REAL environmentalists like Boardman and Shaw (whom YOU might sometimes consider whackos when they oppose certain developments or plastic bags) are defending the fire rings.
It’s not “Class Warfare”.
Liberty requires that people govern themselves.
When people act like animals, then governments need to step in and make rules.
No Yow May Not Shit In the Fire Ring, or Burn Trash, or Burn Toxic Material, etc.
All those things were already illegal, LaRouchie. Go back to your post office with your Obama = Hitler sign.
i realize that i am considered by many on this site to be a part of the wealth newport elite but here is the contradiction. in another life, i was a poor surf rat who spent most of my days, and many nights under the huntington pier (after seeing a great show at the golden bear) or next to one of the fire rings, and those memories are great. as are the memories of my wife and i taking our kids down to the beach and cooking hot dogs over those open fires. and, as much as i have a newly found disdain for the lumpen proletariat, i do have sympathy for the masses (probably more sympathy than i had as a teenager when those people from the inland empire – which in our mind started at about santa ana – tried to sur our beaches). anyway, just so you know, there are a group of us nuevo riche who are lobbying both the city council and the various agencies to let us keep our fire rings.
I figured you weren’t part of that little spoiled group. Or probably not the Winships or Anita Bonghit either. That’s why I tried to be clear in my first paragraph.
I have a good Golden Bear story. Would this be the place to tell it?
would love to have, and share, some golden bear stories
Okay. 1981. Me and my pal Kimba were punk rockers, and we came to the Golden Bear to see Captain Beefheart.
Across the table were a couple who looked like they didn’t belong there – a real full-of-himself hair-rock-type character with long luxurious locks and a satin shirt unbuttoned nearly to his sternum, a heavily made-up floozie at his side probably stroking his satin shirt. I whispered to Kimba, “I don’t think they know who Captain Beefheart is. I don’t think they’ve ever heard his music. I bet they don’t stay long after he gets started.”
And sure enough, when the Captain came out blaring an improvised atonal Ornette-Coleman type duet on two saxophones simultaneously, the couple looked at each other in utter terror, and they were out the door within thirty seconds. Me and Kimba laughed about it for the rest of the night.
only ever got into one real fight in my life, in ninth grade. in 1986 my then pregnant wife and i went to see los lobos at the bear. we staked out a nice spot against the railing towards the back and were enjoying the show when some drunk decided that he wanted the space and started subtly pushing my pregnant wife out of the way. tapped him on the shoulder and gave him that, don’t mess with my wife look all the while thinking i am a rising yuppie in the oc and really do not need a bar fight. as the stairs intensified, his buddy diverted his attention and moved him out of the way. we enjoyed the rest of the show, our child was born happy and healthy and i evolved into the elitist scum i am today
Nailbiter of a story! I wonder if I was the drunk.
How can you honestly say it isn’t a pollution, public nuisance, or health issue?
If it just saves ONE LIFE it’s worth it.
Nobody needs a fire at the beach. If you need or want to cook something, bring along a fire marshal approved camp stove, portable gas bbq or use that microwave in your big ass RV, it’s cleaner and much less polluting. They are much less likely to cause injuries as well. If you’re cold, well then put on some clothes dummy. We should also outlaw blankets on the beach as well, we would prevent a lot of teenage pregnancies, but that’s for another post.
At the very least we should make those ugly fire rings smaller and likely to be abused by placing things like pallets into them. I figure something less than 6 inches in diameter would be effective, you would still have the fire ring, but the wasted resources would be much less and a lot less pollution. Nobody needs a fire ring that’s larger than that, after all it’s more than twice the size of the burner on your stove at home.
You can write a law or laws to say it’s illegal to burn x, y & z, but it’s going to cost the taxpayers to pay for someone to monitor and verify what’s being burned in each pit. You can make the crime, of burning anything other than approved fuels as high as you like and there will still be those who will toss in that dirty diaper. Or as has been suggested make those who use the fire rings, pay for that privilege, purchase a “gross polluters” permit and burn only approved fuels, but then who could afford that? Oh yes, that upper 3% that are gaining income, while the rest of us flounder in the economic morass of a “green state” where all energy is going to at the very least double in the next few years. We aren’t going to call it a permit either, it will be a users fee, that makes it all better.
Welcome to “green” hell kids!
For some of you newbie’s, I know it seems stupid and draconian, but it really is just a natural extension of the demands you liberals have setup, empowered and given your love and hugs to, granting power to agencies that aren’t directly responsible to voters, like SCAQMD, with their glass palace up on the hill. Can we all sing Kumbaya now, around that huge, cold, dead, mega-polluting fire ring? Remember the same folks at SCAQMD tell residents when they can use their fireplaces at home too. Who gave them that power anyway…?
Oh come now, stop being babies about it and eat your pile of poo. (don’t burn it!) You drank the kool-aid, you put these idiots into power where they can snuff your little passion out, not unlike what the same bunch of folks have done for other personal liberties and business interests in our fair* state.
You want to build a bonfire on the beach, move to Texas or Florida, they have lovely beaches there with nice warm water and great fishing too. You could go down to Mexico as well, but you know, they do have very strict gun control down there, and we all know how well that’s working out for them, you would have to rely on the govt down there to protect you.
Give up your liberties!
It’s all in the name of Public Safety and Public Health, we all need to breathe after all.
(*Fair, was the only F word I could think of that I would place into comments, but I bet you know which one I was thinking of, [hint] Vern used that hyphenated term above in his initial posting.)
This is about gun control, Carl? You could make the connection if someone was trying to take away all your precious guns. Nobody is.
The modest gun-safety reforms we’re trying to get through Congress are just
– national system of background checks;
– a limit to the size of ammunition magazines;
– no more NEW sales of military-style weapons.
All to make the massacres which are becoming more and more frequent a little more difficult and rare.
No comparison here. You go on enjoying your arsenal. (I trust you would pass a background check.) We’ll go on enjoying our fire pits.
Vern,
It’s about IRONY!
It’s about intrusive Govt and their continued taking of power they don’t have.
No it’s not ABOUT irony, it USED irony, I realize that.
I think even a libertarian like you can agree that we sometimes need to use our government to protect our health and safety, and that sometimes that government (or really, the people egging it on which is sometimes us) can go overboard. We always have to try to find the line on each issue.
EXACTLY DUDE!!!!!!
The Facts:
It is NOT Newport Beach Residents vs. Our Precious GOD Given/ Constitutional RIGHTS/ Fire Rings!!!! Or NB against Huntington Beach, or any other city or person. It is OUR DISTRICT vs. The SCAQMD and Dr.Burke!!!
FIRE is one of our Elements: EARTH, WIND, and FIRE !!!
GET A HUGE CLUE PEOPLE!!!
Facts:
1. It is the CONTROL and wanna have POWER, from the wannabes’ on the Newport Beach Charter City Council. Who wanna be like Donald Trump or Carnegie, and build a ” Way Over Budget” brand new, STEEL and GLASS Monstrosity city Hall, “Crystal Cathedral”. Which has now gone well over $200 MILLION dollars!!! Only OVER BUDGET by $130 MILLION dollars! DURING A DEPRESSION/RECSSION!!!! OH MAYBE THAT IS THE REASON FOR THE NEW DOCK TAX, FOR BAY FRONT HOMES! New Dock Tax = Pay for new NB Charter City Hall. The most ELABORATE city hall on the west coast! BEWARE Costa Mesa, DO NOT BECAME A CHARTER CITY!!! YOU WILL RUIN YOUR CITY!!!
Newport Beach Charter City Council IS OUT OF CONTROL. THEY HAVE OPENED THIS CAN OF WORMS!
2. The NB City Manager just rewrote the Charter so he could live out of town, he should be living in the town where he works!
3. NB Charter City Council voted for the John Wayne Airport to become an international airport! “DIRTY FOREIGN FUELS for thousands of Newport Residents, and neighboring cities, to breath and get all over our children, houses, patio furniture, gardens, yards, pets, cars, schools, bay. Ocean, and boats etc…
4. NB Charter City Council is pushing for more passengers to go thru our little airport. Which we were told in the 1960’s that the short runway would stay private for private aircraft! Like The Santa Monica Private Airport.
5. NB Charter City Council wants to bring cruise ships to Newport Beach. To pollute our air, Ocean, waves, bay, and ecosystem. That would be very detrimental to marine mammals and marine life! It will RUIN OUR VIEW AND OCEAN and COASTLINE!!! Newport has several dolphins and whales that frequent our coastline, shoreline, and beaches! This is not Ensenada, Cabo, or Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Another BRILLIANT business idea from the NBCCC! Anchor the virus filled, “Love Boat” in front of Newport and let the shore boats come in and out of our marina and pollute. And hopefully spend some money to help pay for the new NB Charter City Council City Hall.
6. LOOK OUT Huntington Beach here comes the 55 Fwy. The NB Charter City Council is trying to sneak a little ol fwy. coming your way! Let’s join the 55 fwy. and PCH together at BANNING RANCH! There is already a traffic jam on PCH in Newport and HB every afternoon. Maybe T.K., at the FROGHOUSE, won’t mind some extra business! They want to tear up the last piece of barren land on the Newport Coastline, one of the last places to be able smell California! Let’s build hiking trails and leave the land and lots of wild life alone, Dr. Burke was in charge of the California Fish and Game, as well as the California Wildlife Conservancy! MAYBE HE WILL HELP. NOT!
They want to make all of us, REAL OLD SCHOOL NEWPORT LOCALS, Barf!
TIME TO WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!!! AND GET A CLUE!!!!!!
That is just some examples of what a CHARTER City can and will do!
JOAN IRVINE agrees with me! All this land here in Newport and all the beaches on our Newport’s entire coastline belonged to HER FAMILY. THE IRVINE FAMILY! We both miss the beautiful, and distinct smell and aroma of the mixture of our beautiful state and our vast and gorgeous Pacific Ocean!
JOAN IRVINE, is an Original NEWPORT LOCAL, and is AGAINST THE FIRE RING BAN! SHE HAS SIGNED THE PETITION!!!!!!!
Another Newport Local who is against the ban is HOWARD AHMANSON Jr. Who happens to LIVE ABOVE the fire rings in Big Corona, Corona del Mar. He and his wife helped start SAVE THE PITS.COM They love the beach and Ocean and want everybody to share it at anytime!!!!!
A CHARTER CITY COUNCIL has FULL POWER, and the Majority vote wins. Ie. 3 out of 5 votes,
4 out of 7 votes. It is a DICTATORSHIP !!!! Sorry citizens you get no vote!!!!!
The Newport Beach Charter City Council is picking on the fire rings because they are hiding their other bigger issues, and hidden agendas. And Councilwoman/ ex Mayor/ dictator ( and ex president of Surfrider Newport Beach Chapter), Nancy Gardner is trying to please some of her friends and trying to make a California State Beach, Big Corona, Corona del Mar, a private and exclusive beach in the evening and at night. That is why a gang of NBPD rounds everybody off the beach by 10pm.
If it was really about peoples’ health and the environment Nancy and her friends, The Peters, would be focusing on the real issues and problems:
ie. TOXIC Air Pollution from the Air traffic, smog:
1. Private and commercial airplanes, helicopters.
2. We now know since a report was just released this month regarding that emissions from automobiles effect infants and fetuses. It kills their white blood cells!!! SMOG AND CAR EMISSIONS KILLS BABIES!!!!
NOT FIRE RINGS!!!!
3. Fireworks: AIR, WATER, and NOISE POLLUTION. The sulfur and other dangerous chemicals from the fireworks are very bad and pollutant to our air, oceans, streams, and rivers. Harms the environments and ecosystems!!!!
What happened to 50% in 5 years Nancy Gardner? A campaign NB SURFIDER had started before Nancy took over! It was to clean up the Santa Ana River Jetty and what comes down and flows into our Ocean from inland and from our own curbside by the year 2000 and to continually upkeep and care take for that. What happened to that Nancy.
Fact:
1. The runoff from the Santa Ana River Jetty gets people very ill/ sick. It contains E-Coli and Viruses!
2. TRASH FROM JAPAN! Newport Lifeguards and residents have found parking signs and other signs and trash from Japan’s Tsunami and Earthquake that ruptured Nuclear Plants which has CAUSED PERMANENT AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN!!!!
DO NOT FORGET, The EDISON COMPANY IS LOBBYING FOR A DATE TO RESTART SAN ONOFRE NUCLEAR PLANT!!! A VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY BAD IDEA!!! It is not necessary! We can do without this MAJOR RING OF FIRE!!! THIS IS THE FIRE RING/ PIT That should have the whole Southern California in rage! The plant has not been running for 1 year and a half, since October, 2011. That is proof that it is a UNNECESSARY TOXIC NUCLEAR PLANT!!!!
Back to the Fire Rings and good ol Mob boss, Dr. Burke, who is illegally still on the SCAQMD! According to RULE 1099 of The California Government Law! Just for that reason alone he needs to resign or be canned. He was not elected by us. He bullies and tries to intimidate us. He is a Dictator! We need to watch him and this process. Atty. General, Kamala Harris needs to do her job and can him and cite the California Coastal Commission and The SCAQMD for letting Dr. Burke do this and to continue this irresponsible conduct and behavior.
Facts:
1. 0, No Tests have been done on particulates from bonfires at the beach.
2. Researchers will not be able to decifer between participants, ie. aircraft exhaust, auto exhaust, SMOG, fireplaces, barbecues, backyard fire pits, food smokers, cigarettes, boats, etc….
3. The State of California is broke and cannot afford the testing!
Therefore because of stated facts:
The SCAQMD MUST DISMISS AND DROP THIS CASE INDEFINITELY!!!
WE DO NOT HAVE BUSINESS PEOPLE IN OUR GOVERNMENTS Any longer, IT’S ALL POLLUTED/ POLITICS now. We cannot trust them any longer. They twist lies with truth to deceive the citizens to benefit their own agendas. In the mean time they pass whatever vote comes up next, without communicating with the public. They try and fake listening and spin their board seat around and end up telling us, the citizens, what to do!!!
Do not trust CHARTER CITIES!!!
There are many more larger issues do deal with than “The manageable with solutions to be fair for everyone fire ring issue.”
ie.
1. Air traffic
2. Banning Ranch
3. Smog
4. Fireworks
5. Auto Racing
6. Motorcycle Racing
7. Ocean Pollution
8. Closing and Demolition of San Onofre Nuclear Plant
JUST TO MENTION A FEW!
LEAVE THE FIRE RINGS/ PITS ALONE!!!
By Deciding to let individual cities Handel the fire rings, Newport is getting thrown back to the wolves. Howard Ahmanson Jr. agrees!
A VERY CONCERNED NEWPORT LOCAL
We need to hear more from Newport rebels like you. Do you know anyone who wants to blog about these things?
*A thorough report indeed, we must admit. All our Newport Beach dirty laundry has been aired and by golly we fell a whole bunch better. Chairman Vern loves this stuff…..”Feet of Clay Reporting at its best!” We applaud CNR for the candor. CNR did fail to mention those folks on Breakers Drive at Big Corona……who unanimously want those fire pits – gone! Joan Irvine Smith drove around in her T-Bird with her sister back in 1960 on Balboa Island……cruising “the little people” rioting on Marine Avenue. We even jumped out in front of her car and popped her hood…..someone grabbed her car keys…..and the rest is history.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch….CNR did not mention the proposed change in Departure Flight Path that – the City Council – Not the FAA
is proposing so their constituients on Dover Drive don’t have to listen to those Mexican Airliners that can’t make the Phase IV limits.
Anyway, now that about one third of our dirty laundry is out there, why hasn’t CNR mentioned that fact – that for the last 10 years…..the choices for Members of the City Council have been limited……it is too long a story to bring up here…….but no doubt – other cities have noticed the methods and manner in which this was accomplished.
OK, the reality seems to be that it is the “Dock Tax” which has CNR most bugged – not fire rings. We would look forward with glee to having CNR join the hearty band of individuals here at the OC Juice.
Fun stuff….really!
It’s the domino effect. Take this take that. Could you imagine going back 30 years and telling someone what freedoms we have lost today? The would call you a liar and say it would never happen.
Joe,
You hit the nail right on the head!!!
Hey Vern….its not everyday that you , Mansoor, Dana, Mimi, and Travis all agree on something. Matt Coker is reporting they are having a bonfire on Sunday. Sounds like your type of party.
UPDATE, APRIL 25, 9:13 A.M.: According to an email from Mansoor, he’ll be joining Allen, Walters and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Asteroid) at Sunday’s beach bonfire. “I hope you will join us and celebrate this American past-time with ‘Smores and hot dogs,” reads his email, which I’ll assume was not directed solely at me.
Well, we’re headin over there afterward. Me and my audience. At that point the Dems might outnumber the Reeps.
*The next thing you are probably going to say is: “You’ll have to pull my incinerator…. from my cold dead hands!”
Anyway, all people that use fire rings at night need to wear tanga’s……only.
That might make them more popular!
lmao!!!
ATTENTION, ATTENTION ATTENTION, HUNTINGTON BEACH and ALL OTHERS, STOP SLANDERING AND STEREOTYPING NEWPORT BEACH RESIDENTS!!!!!
PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE AND GET THE STORY STRAIGHT. PLEASE DON’T PIT THE CITIZENS OF OUR DISTRICT AGAINST ONE ANOTHER!!! WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!
It is:
THE PEOPLE OF OUR SOUTH COAST DISTRICT vs.
The SCAQMD, Dr. Burke, The Newport Beach Charter City Council, and 2 residents!!!
The 2 people who keep complaining about the “Fire Rings” are not OLD SCHOOL NEWPORT LOCALS!!! They are new transplants, possible wannabe yuppies! They DO NOT REPRESENT US, NEWPORT BEACH LOCALS! THEY DO NOT REPRESENT ANY WEALTH OR INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN NEWPORT BEACH! They are not the “Wealthy” of Newport. People in Newport don’t have the time to waste on frivolous matters. Unlike the Peters! Who mock, ridicule, and condemn their neighbors, Newport Beach Residents, Huntington Beach Residents, anyone in favor of our rights and fire rings! Mr. Peters even mocked THE 12 STEP RECOVERY AND REHABILITATION PROGRAMS!
Sounds like Mr. Peters may need a 12 Step Program himself. How about some Church Mr. Peters! You could definitely use and benefit from either one or both!
God Bless you,
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
VERY CONCERNED NEWPORT LOCAL
Okay… I hope I was clear enough in my first sentence – I’m sure most of you-all are way cool.
Just another town in need of a revolution!
*Cool your jets ….CNR……get your facts right OK…..Just because we do not agree with you 100%……does not make us or anyone else Newbie Yuppies. We moved here in 1952……and yourself….Mr. Local Yokle?
Born at HOAG. Members of NHYC since the 1920’s. Original residents on LIDO. A family member was married around ’52 at OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL CHURCH on 15th Street in Balboa. Which at that time was the little one story hall next to the main church of today. Another relative had been graduated from NEWPORT HARBOR HIGH 5 years before you moved here. Went to NEWPORT ELEMENTARY, NHHS!
Almost 100 years dude! How do I qualify? Do I meet your qualifications?
It happens you know … me and Gus were working with many of these same Republicans last year to keep toll lanes off the 405. After all, they can’t physically be wrong about ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, can they?
*Reaching across the isle….are we? Nice! When are you and Dana having lunch together with Ed Royce?
Ugh. Obviously you’ve never watched Dana eat. And I wouldn’t go without my undocumented friends.
chop down trees, burn them nightly into the atmosphere. call yourself an environmentalist. i like it !
This is a clever comment, somehow?
Trees are a renewal sustainable resource.
All of the UNITED STATES forests are managed!
Including private land. For our lumber and timber.
We take out the bad, sick, beetle and bug infested timber,
so we can prevent forest fires and to make room for new growth.
The droughts dry out the trees, they become vulnerable to beetles, bugs, and diseases.
Where, what, how, and when we hunt is managed!
Where we fish, what we catch, what size limit, and what time of year is all managed! And is manageable.
So to, are the fire rings!
There are MANY SOLUTIONS!
The fire rings are WAY MANAGEABLE!
It is all ABOUT EDUCATION and RESPECT!
A Newport Beach Eagle Scout told me last week, “There are solutions, do not omit the fire rings. We just need to educate!” His father said he is for both sides. The reason for that is because he is friends with the 2 people who are the ones complaining and could not sign the petition.
Solutions for Balboa and Corona del Mar:
1. Spread the fire pits further apart. Obviously and purposely put close together for cleaning conveniences.
2. Signs in different languages. Like is done for the DMV booklets.
3. Screens and or plates could be used over the top of fire rings.
And so many other solutions.
4. Get ideas from other sources and agencies! Maybe The U.S. Forest Service !
And so many more and other solutions.
For some reason there are approximately 20 brand new fire rings on pallets in the parking lot North of the Balboa pier. Along with approximately 20 fire rings at the Big Corona State Beach. Waiting to be replacements.
Very Concerned Newport Local
*Fascinating….really. Spread out the fire rings? Really? That way the burning Dirty Diapers will pollute a larger area….eh?
CNR…..more ideas on Fire Ring usage please!
as clever as yours about eating with Dana? let the viewers decide !
as soon as us elitists here at crystal cove get back after summering at the hamptons, we are going to gate off the beach down there and put in our own fire rings, then we will not have to deal with the proletariat in newport and huntington. and as to the concerned newport beach person, i have to respectfully disagree, the sooner they put in an express lane from the 605/22/405 intersection down to newport coast drive, the happier we will be.
An elevated lane, I’m sure you mean, to befit your status.
if i was going to be elevated, i would just take the helicopter
Is that Nancy Gardner? Crystal Cove, that is where Nancy lives
Any waves in the Cove today Nancy?
Have a beautiful day.
Who was the brains behind the brilliant idea of ending the 55 fwy. Into a peninsula?
*That idea was a part of the Traffic Circulation Plan at the County….CNR and the then friendly City Council to Tom Reilly and Harriet Weider…..were right there to take the perks….on the boards and commissions.
The true fight started in 1970 when we fought against the Golden Coast Freeway that then Cal-Trans Chief, Adreanna Gianturco (with Young Jerry Brown as the Governor) wanted to use eminent domain to take property from the northern border to the Mexican Border…..so that people could see the Ocean all the way from one end of California to the other. The Proposed 55 Extension became an off shoot of that original concept. So far, it has not made it to PCH or the Newport Peninsula. With a little luck and further effort…..it won’t now either.
CNR……keep after all these issues….but be gentle when demonizing our dear “paid in place” city council. If you are not careful…..they will want you
to run.
Thank you Mr. Winship for the EDUCATION. That’s what we all need! That’s why I’m on here. It’s about FACTS, EDUCATION, WISDOM! To learn and to teach.
This Fire Ring Issue is a NO BRAINER!:
EDUCATION = MANAGEABLE SOLUTIONS!!!
KEEP NEWPORT BEACH, ORANGE AND L.A. COUNTIES FIRE RINGS!!!!
As a Huntington Beach homeowner and resident I’m against the bonfires. I want to ride my cruiser along the beach at night and only smell the semi-clean ocean breeze. I also don’t like seeing the sand get dirtier all the time, either. If we keep the bonfires, though, I suggest we tear down the new Walmart Neighborhood Market and use that for firewood.
Well, that’s a respectable personal preference, and maybe something we could all vote on if you got enough supporters to put it on the ballot.
Your second idea, though, I could totally get behind. Let’s take it to the Council!
*Good Comment HB Resident…….it is the main reason why we buy an annual Parking Permit for HB…….there are some neat folks – your way!
Shawn Nelson is on the AQMD board, I’m starting to see a pattern with Nelson. First with the homeless shelter in Fullerton without any public input, now the banning of beach fires by his bully AQMD board, Nelson serve your public not your campaign contributors.
1. Shawn is on our SIDE here, so settle down. He’s one of 13 Board members and hopefully he’ll have at least 6 others agreeing with him.
2. WHAT campaign contributors? The homeless?
3. Shawn wants me to ask you, as he always does, where is YOUR great location for a homeless shelter? He remains all ears.
SCAQMD PUBLIC HEARING:
South Coast AQMD ▫ 21865 Copley Dr ▫ Diamond Bar, CA 91765 ▫ (909) 396-2000 ▫ 800-CUT-SMOG (288-7664)
aqmd.gov
Friday May 3, 2013
9am
Agenda Item #29:
Purposely put at the end of their Agenda! So we won’t attend or we may leave early, so we can’t and won’t defend our Fire Rings! We have to play there games and waste our GAS, time, money and energy! Obviously, since it is at the end of their agenda, THE FIRE RINGS and BONFIRES ARE NOT REALLY A DANGER nor a PRIORITY!!!
We Must Attend every one of their meetings! We cannot trust them! They may try to sneak a vote in on Friday. Brenda Wisneski, with the Newport Beach Charter City Hall sure is lobbying for a May vote.
What’s the rush? Why do you hate the Fire Rings so much Ms. Wisneski, Nancy Gardner, and the rest of the “non-beach goers” in the NB Charter City Hall. Please back off and throw in the towel and COME ON OVER TO A BONFIRE AND HAVE A SMORE!!! You are out numberd. Let the masses speak. By the way Ms. Wisneski the Fire Rings/Bonfire’s local and non-local patrons DO ADD and EFFECT TO NEWPORT BEACH and NEIGHBORING CITEIS ECONOMY!!!!! Ms. Wisneski did not tell the truth at the, March 28, 2013, SCAQMD Meeting!!!!
P.S. NB Charter City Council: LET THE MEDIA BE FREE!!!
EVERYBODY IN NEWPORT BEACH KNOWS IT IS NOT THE RESIDENTS OF NEWPORT BEACH THAT WANT TO BAN THE FIRE RINGS, IT IS THE NEWPORT CHARTER CITY COUNCIL and just a COUPLE OF RESIDENTS!!! THE ONLY REASON YOU WANT THE BAN IS FOR
SELF-CENTERD REASONS!!!
Been trying to get this information out on “Newport Beach/CDM Patch” for locals to know. Was rejected several times. Maybe a conspiracy over there? The Newport Beach Charter City Council may control the local print Media!!!
ATTENTION! ATTENTION!
All Must See!
Check out: ” the Orange Juice Blog,” Click on: ” Can We Save Huntington Beach’s Fabled Bonfires from Bureaucrat Pinheds and Newport Nimby’s?” Scroll down and read it all. GOOD STUFF!
orangejuice.com
More good information!
More FACTS = EDUCATION, (knowledge and Wisdom) = MANAGED SOLUTIONS !
Accpeted by the MAJORITY not DICTATED by A FEW !!!
Very Concerned Newport Local
CNR –
You should really consider accepting your Doctors advice to lay off the Adderall late in the day, it’s making you cut & paste like the real intellectual you have dreamed of being someday, or a last-word nut job with a massive inferiority complex…………”Dude?” 100 years in Newport?
Time to mature, and Go!
It’s called deeply rooted in my Community!
Small minded people with low self-esteem,
I PRAY FOR YOU !
GOD BLESS YOU !