Planet Beauty Hosting Grand Opening Party This Weekend
The new Planet Beauty shop at 2801 East Coast Highway is hosting a weekend-long grand opening party.
The event will run until 5 p.m. today, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday only, the shop will offer 25 percent off most items in the store, according to an event flier. Throughout the weekend, you can spin the “Wheel of Beauty,” receive gift bags and mini facials, enjoy refreshments and more.
For more information, call (949) 734-4433.
Click here to read our earlier story about Planet Beauty, which replaces the LA Jo clothing boutique.
CdM Dog Needs Home
A Corona del Mar dog walker is seeking a home for a labradoodle whose owner has died.
“I’ve been Charlie’s dog walker and best friend for 3 years,” Stacey Kissam said in an email. “His mom passed away and her wish was for me to find him a new home that would cherish him as we do. Charlie is staying with a friend indefinitely. He would be with me but my 3 dogs don’t like other dogs.”
Charlie is 8 years old and a boy and is very healthy, Kissam said. He weights 85 pounds and is good with children and other dogs.
“Charlie grew up in this area and wants to stay in the Corona del Mar area,” she said. “A home where someone is around most days. Does not need a big yard just a daily walk and a squeaky toy or two.”
Kissam said she can take Charlie on play dates weekdays at no cost to his new family.
If you’re interested in meeting Charlie and could adopt him you can reach Kissam at Stacey at watchdogsps dot com or by calling (949) 500-6022.
Photo courtesy of Stacey Kissam.
CdM Donor Gives Half Million to Girls Inc.
A Corona del Mar woman this week donated $500,000 to Girls Inc. of Orange County, a non-profit organization that inspires girls to be “strong, smart, and bold,” according to a news release.
Gena Reed, past president of the organization’s board of directors, presented the gift at the Girls Inc. annual “Day of Gratitude” donor recognition luncheon in Santa Ana.
“I support Girls Incorporated because I’ve seen the transformation of the young girls and women that complete their programs,” Reed said in a statement. “They are exposed to science, math, technology and other fields that are traditionally thought of as male oriented. These young women ‘graduate’ from Girls Inc. knowing that they can choose their career and go to college.”
The donation was made in memory of Nick Reed, who died last year of cancer. Gena and Nick Reed have been longtime supporters of Girls Inc., the statement said.
“This is an amazing day for the girls of Orange County,” said Lucy Santana, CEO of Girls Inc. of Orange County, in a statement. “Because of Gena’s generosity, we’ll be able to serve even more girls and inspire them to be strong, smart, and bold.”
The gift will be used specifically for scholarships for elementary programs at the Costa Mesa-based Youth & Family Center, and for college scholarships for girls who have participated in Girls Inc.’s high school programming, the statement said.
Girls Inc. of Orange County works with 4,500 girls between 4 1/2 and 18 years old each year.
Photo courtesy of Girls Inc.
CdM This Weekend: Five Great Things For Your To-Do List
1. The 24-hour Newport Beach Relay for Life will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at Newport Harbor High School. The event will begin with an Opening Ceremony followed by a 9:15 a.m. survivors’ lap. Then teams, all raising money for cancer research, will keep a continuous walk around the track until the closing ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. The luminaria ceremony will take place at 9 p.m. Firefighters, police and City Council members traditionally participate, as well as students and cancer survivors of all ages. For more information, click here.
2. Head to the Central Library for a kids’ program at 1 p.m. Sunday, where teen authors Laurel Smith, Katie Weaver and Alexandra Zalewski, along with illustrator J. H. Everett, will tell kids how to create their own illustrations. The Newport Beach Public Library Foundation is hosting the event featuring the authors of “Red Rocker’s Hairy Day,” which was written to support a local charity when the authors were in eighth grade. The library is located at 1000 Avocado Ave.
3. The Balboa Island Art Walk will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, featuring more than a mile of live music and artwork on display along South Bay Front. Carpooling is encouraged; click here for more information.
4. Crystal Cove State Park will host a tidepool walk at 10 a.m. Saturday, when the low tide will fall to 0.9.; meet at Pelican Point lot #2 at the boardwalk. At 9 a.m. Sunday, you can join a Family Hike that meets at the Moro Amphitheater.
5. Newport Beach mom and author Cynthia C. Muchnick will appear at Barnes & Noble Metro Pointe at noon Saturday to discuss her book, “The Everything College Checklist Book.” Muchnick will discuss college visits, paperwork, letters of recommendation, essays, application fees, student loans and more that will help you and your college-bound student. Barnes & Noble Metro Pointe is located at 901 B South Coast Drive in Costa Mesa. Muchnick and her son, Harbor Day alum Justin, recently published a study guide book they wrote together; read more about that here.
Magic Shoe Run to Close Roads Near CdMHS
The Magic Shoe 5K Run/Walk will take place Saturday, causing street closures near the Corona del Mar High School campus.
A police alert says that between 5 and 11 a.m. Saturday, the following streets will be closed or have limited access:
• Eastbluff Drive (between Mar Vista Drive and Vista del Oro/Cacao Street)
• Mar Vista Drive
• Vista del Sol
• Vista Del Oro (between Mar Vista Drive and Eastbluff Drive)
Parking will be available at the school at 2010 Eastbluff Drive. For information on the race, including how to register, click here.
Shore Cliffs Water Project Underway
A city water improvement project is underway in the Shore Cliffs neighborhood.
The project, which costs about $25,000, will install an “infiltration gallery” at the end of an esplanade off Shorecliff Road. The gallery uses layers of gravel and sand to give runoff from streets a chance to absorb back into the ground rather than through an underground pipe that drains directly into the ocean, thus reducing runoff into an area that has been designated as an Area of Special Biological Significance. The State Water Resources Control Board works with city agencies to make sure efforts are being made to limit runoff, city officials have said.
Construction began last week and will be complete by the end of June, said Robert Stein, an assistant city engineer. Read our earlier story here. The Newport Beach City Council voted in April to fund the Shore Cliffs project, along with other water quality improvement projects; read our story here.
CdMRA Meeting Covers Fire Rings, CdM Project Updates
The Corona del Mar Residents Association board met Thursday morning at the OASIS Senior Center, where members had a quick but passionate exchange on beach bonfires.
The meeting began with City Council reports, and Mayor Keith Curry told the board members about his meeting with other mayors on Wednesday, where they learned about the results of air studies conducted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District; read our story here.
The AQMD’s studies, he said, showed unhealthy levels of wood smoke from the beach bonfires, which were worse in Newport Beach than other cities. He said some who attended were “science deniers” but that the studies provided the support for the fire rings’ removal.
Later in the meeting, however, after Curry had left, a board member took issue with the city’s plans to remove beach fire rings. The California Coastal Commission is expected to decide on whether to issue a permit for the removal this summer, and the AQMD is expected to vote on a regional ban on all rings, perhaps at a July meeting.
Board member Barry Allen said that Newport Beach’s efforts to remove beach fire rings have brought negative attention to the city.
“Everybody is against us,” he said. “Corona del Mar comes out as a bunch of racist people that want to keep poor people off the beach. Just watch the TV and read the papers. We’ve got bad P.R.”
City Council member Nancy Gardner disagreed and said she’d received many letters that support the city’s efforts to remove the rings, and board member Barbara Peters, an active opponent of beach bonfires, reiterated the results of the AQMD’s studies and other scientific evidence about the dangers of wood smoke.
“I wouldn’t believe any study they ever did,” Allen said, referring to the AQMD’s studies; click here to read more. After the meeting, he explained that studies can be conducted in a way to reach desired results.
The meeting’s featured speaker was City Manager Dave Kiff, who was not present during the fire rings discussions.
Kiff described several upcoming projects that will affect Corona del Mar residents, including a water main upgrade that will replace 1.6 miles of water transmission pipes between Pacific View and Bayside drives that is expected to begin this summer; read more here.
“This is a once in a lifetime” project, he said. “I hope you remember that.”
Traffic is expected to be seriously affected during the project.
Kiff also said that Bayside Drive would be repaved from El Paseo Drive to Marguerite Avenue, beginning sometime late summer after Labor Day. According to the city’s website, the project “involves grinding and overlaying the asphalt concrete pavement,” removing and reconstructing curbs, gutters and sidewalks and adjusting existing utilities.
City Councilman Ed Selich said that plans for a pocket park near the Hobie Surf shop mural will be part of the city’s next budget.
Two board members complained about bright lights from the Civic Center, sometimes blazing at 1 a.m. on weekends. Selich said crews were trying to complete work on floors and other jobs that could not be done during daytime working hours, and that the lights should be off at night when that work was complete.
From the Police Log: Burglary, Grand Theft, Arrests
Police took a report of a commercial burglary at Bristol Farms at 810 Avocado Avenue at 3:16 p.m. Wednesday, according to a report.
The burglary occurred between 9:42 and 10:04 a.m. Wednesday, and the loss was $228.
Officers also took a report of a grand theft with a $10,000 loss on Pelican Point Drive at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The theft occurred between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, a report said.
Police arrested a 56-year-old Washington man at 9:36 a.m. Wednesday at 8086 East Coast Highway on suspicion of trespassing at a public business; bail was $500. Officers arrested a 51-year-old Irvine man at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion of trespassing and refusing to leave a property at 7846 East Coast Highway. Police also arrested a 46-year-old Huntington Beach man at Third and Begonia avenues at 9:10 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion of DUI; bail was $15,000. Police arrested a 37-year-old Riverside man on suspicion of DUI at Dahlia and Seaview avenues at 12:14 a.m. May 9; bail was $15,000. A 19-year-old Santa Ana man was arrested at 101 Newport Center Drive at 11 p.m. May 9 on suspicion of petty theft; bail was $500.
Police took a report of suspicious circumstances at 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road at 10:33 a.m. May 9. The incident occurred between midnight May 4 and 4 p.m. May 7 with a loss of $276.94.
Public Meeting on Fire Rings to Be Held Friday in HB
Two Orange County mayors, including one who also is a board member for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, will hold a public meeting at 5 p.m. Friday in Huntington Beach to discuss the future of beach fire rings.
The meeting will come two days after local mayors will meet privately to discuss the issue; read our earlier story here.
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who is a board member for the SCAQMD, along with Huntington Beach Mayor Connie Boardman will host the meeting “to gather input on the future of Orange County’s fire pits,” according to an announcement sent by email from the SCAQMD.
The SCAQMD board plans to vote on June 7 on whether to ban all beach fire rings throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties; read our earlier stories here, here and here.
According to the SCAQMD email about the Friday meeting, the proposed restrictions are aimed at protecting public health.
“Numerous health studies have shown that wood smoke causes health effects including respiratory irritation and aggravation of respiratory diseases such as asthma,” the email said. “SCAQMD’s Governing Board will conduct a public hearing this summer to consider a rule restricting open burning on beaches.”
The issue arose after the Newport Beach City Council voted to remove the city’s 60 beach fire rings. The rings’ removal is pending approval of a permit from the California Coastal Commission. Newport Beach Mayor Keith Curry — as well as the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the OC Visitors Association — have stated that having beach bonfires should be a local choice.
The Friday meeting will be held in the Huntington Beach Council Chambers at 2000 Main St.
