CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Newport Beach Launches Facebook Page

The City of Newport Beach has joined the Facebook craze with a page unveiled this week that offers news, project updates, photographs and more.

“The social media realm gives us the ability to listen and share,” said Tara Finnigan, a city spokeswoman, in an email. “It also connects the City to people that have an interest in what’s happening in Newport Beach. We want people to know what we’re doing and why, and we want to know what they think about it.”

The Newport Beach Police Department created a Facebook page in October, and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District created its Facebook page in July. The district also uses Twitter to send out updates and news. Read our stories about those pages here and here.

The city’s Facebook page currently lets you become a “fan” and has some of the same information found on the city’s website. Finnigan said that city officials want to find as many ways as possible to reach out to residents. “If some of those people are on Facebook, then we should be there too,” she said.

Already, some city officials have mentioned using Facebook to reach out to citizens. At Monday’s bicycle safety task force meeting, for example, City Councilwoman Nancy Gardner said that the Facebook page might be an excellent way to disseminate information on bike paths, as well as to get feedback from cyclists.

To find the Facebook page, click here.