News: Council Member Nancy Gardner

city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast

Nancy Gardner

mayor v newport beach, california

newsletter: SEPTEMBER 2012

MONEY AND VOTING
No, not PACs and SuperPACs and EvenbetterthanPACs. This is a different kind of election. Cox Communications asked for nominations of people in the community who do something for the environment. People vote, and the winner gets money to donate to a favorite cause. It was a no-brainer for me. I nominated Jean Watt who has mentored at least two generations of environmental activists while in her spare time founding SPON; Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks; and Orange Coast River Park, Inc., among other activities. Now, Jean is one of three finalists. To vote for her, go to www.CoxConservesHeroes.com.

SUCH A DEAL
If your water provider is IRWD, you can get a free water evaluation and free weather-based irrigation controller. There have been big strides made in the efficiency of the controllers. The older versions based their weather interpretations on stations in Irvine which led to some adjustment difficulties. Today, the station is part of the system at your own house. Can’t get any more micro-climate than that. The nifty thing is that you save water, but your garden looks better than ever because the irrigation is so dialed in. For more information: call (888) 268-1009 or email savewater@valleysoil.com.

PORT THEATER
The Port Theater has come along under a cloak of secrecy. Certainly the owner’s right. As long as he adhered to the codes and passed all the inspections, he was under no obligation to tell us the color scheme, what kind of sodas he’d be serving, or even the film format. However, there’s a penalty for such secrecy. If you don’t fill in the blanks, the public will, and so, as the Port had its soft opening, the city got calls about it being a coffee house, a club, etc. We finally had a nice face-to-face with the owner, and we are all on the same page: It is not a coffee house, not a club, but a theater. It will be clearer when they get their marquee and can better publicize the films being shown (an odd omission for a theater) but meanwhile you can go online for the schedule, including children’s specials Saturday mornings. Sodas? Didn’t ask. Color scheme—brown leather club chairs with small tables, red acoustic tiles on the walls, a large screen with 3D capabilities. Film format—not really determined yet, so my suggestions: Anything by Powell/Pressburger, ditto David Lean. And how about all those British comedies with Alec Guinness, Ian Carmichael and early Peter Sellers. And Monty Python. And—oh, they’ll figure it out.

PINCH LANE
Coming into CdM from the north, three lanes become two at MacArthur. There is a beautification project proposed for this area that moves the pinch point back to provide space to widen the sidewalk and accommodate more landscaping. Since this involves traffic, I expected volatile reactions, but this hasn’t been the case. Most of the responses have been very measured and well thought-out, negative or positive. If you’d like to view the proposed project or opine on it, go to the city’s website, to Current Projects, Corona del Mar Entry Trial Project.

SEAWALLS
As part of its duties, the Tidelands Management Committee looked at the seawalls on Balboa Island. Age plus sea level rise has made this an issue that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of putting a number to the long-term project. We tried to explain that this was over many years, could vary greatly depending on the accuracy of sea level projections, etc. All anybody seemed to hear were the zeroes. So, just to clarify, TMC is not recommending plunging into a wholesale replacement of the walls at this point. It is recommending a study to better understand the options we have.

PACKARDS, AND BENTLEYS AND JAGS, OH MY
The Coastline Car Classic is Sunday, September 9, 10-4, at Big Corona. One of the best things about being mayor is getting to pick a car for an award. I’m a sucker for the old Packards, but if my thirteen-year-old grandsons come along, it’ll probably be something faster, louder and newer that gets the mayor’s nod.

FUTURE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS

This is a two-way process, so please don’t hesitate to contact me with your ideas and opinions. My email address for city business is: NGardner@newportbeachca.gov. Don’t worry if you forget it. I’ll still be using the AOL one, too.

=> Return to Newsletters

Mayor Nancy Gardner

QUALITY OF LIFE Advocate FOR NEWPORT BEACH

City of Newport Beach | 3300 Newport Blvd | Newport Beach, CA 92663

Phone: 949.644.3004 | EMAIL: ngardner@newportbeachca.gov