city council district 6 v corona del mar & newport coast
Nancy Gardner
mayor v newport beach, california
newsletter: november 2012
WALK WITH THE MAYOR
A final burst of energy. Saturday, November 17, come walk with me around Santa Ana Heights. This is the most recently annexed part of our city, the only area that permits horses and other animals besides dogs and cats. We’ll be leaving from the fire station (turn right on Mesa Drive, and it’s there on the left at the corner of Acacia) at 9 a.m. There may be some off-roading, so wear sturdy shoes. Among the highlights—a peek in at Newport Beach Vineyards and Winery, but just a peek. Too early for us to be tasting. We’ll end up back at the fire station for light refreshments.
SPEAKING OF MAYOR’S THINGS . . .
There was a good turnout for the paddle, everyone from tweeners to retirees, and it was so much fun I was instantly thinking of other paddling opportunities: a bay version of CycLavia or a post-Boat Parade moonlight venture, for example. One of the participants is involved in the effort to make standup paddling an Olympic Sport. His hope is to create a center in Newport that would provide training for elite SUPers. I suppose it would be fun watching them fly by, leaving me bobbing in their wake.
TRASH
Is it that people who eat fast food are slobs, or is it that our domestic wildlife (yes, I realize that’s an oxymoron, but I think it well-describes creatures like ravens, raccoons, rats and—to break up the alliteration—coyotes who live so happily with us) have developed a craving for fast food? All I know for sure is that the trash I pick up in the alley is 90% from fast-food establishments, so people who patronize such places either blithely toss their trash or—and I think much more likely—the critters like high-fat, high-salt snacks and have learned to recognize the packaging. Either way, picking up all this trash is certainly going to influence me when we review our trash procedures.
NOBLE DANE
“To desal or
not to desal, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to support
the Huntington Beach desal project and insure an alternate source of water for
our residents or to take arms against the innumerable environmental issues
associated with the project and by opposing end it.” Most water experts will
tell you that desal is another arrow in our water supply quiver but that it
should be the last arrow. The primary focus should be on what we have and better
managing it. This means more ground water replenishment, more capture and
storage of runoff, more conservation when it comes to landscape. Most water
experts will also say that there is good desal and not so good desal.
Unfortunately, the proposed desal plant in Huntington Beach falls into the not
so good category. Unlike the proposed plant in Dana Point which will use slant
drilling, the HB project proposes to use the power plant’s ocean intake pipe,
the kind of pipe that the state is phasing out because of its environmental
impacts, and there is the issue of brine and associated chemicals that would be
discharged into the ocean. On top of that, desalinated water takes a lot of
energy to produce and as a result is very pricey. Without even getting into the
issue of private ownership of a water supply, there are good reasons to be
concerned about the Huntington Beach project. At the same time, if the plant is
built, we would want access to the water, so we hover, torn between the two
paths, indicating interest to keep our hand in the game but not going so far as
support. Just like Hamlet. Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave etc.
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.
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
Copyright 2012 v Nancy Gardner v All Rights Reserved