CdM loses mural on John Blom photography building

Courtesy Corona del Mar Today

The new owner of the John Blom photography studio building at 3732 East Coast Highway has painted over a mural on side of the structure and plans to add a “living wall,” or a green wall that will be covered in succulents that create a design.

The mural had depicted pelican’s holding waving pictures of seascapes and a church, floating in a blue, cloud-filled sky. Blom said he returned from vacation to see the mural was gone, but he said it was the new owner’s right.

“It was good while it lasted,” he said. Blom recently sold the building and is closing his studio, but he’ll continue to work with clients on locations.

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

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Downed power line possible cause of Newport Coast vegetation fire

Courtesy Newport Beach Fire Department

Newport Beach firefighters quickly extinguished a vegetation fire behind Sage Hill School at 9:43 a.m. Wednesday, according to a fire department statement.

A 911 caller alerted authorities to the blaze, which was off the 73 Toll Road.

“Once on scene they found a brush fire in vegetation that covered roughly 50 by 50 feet of vegetation,” the statement said. “Newport Beach firefighters aggressively attacked the fire and it was quickly extinguished.”

The fire did not damage any structures, and no one was injured, fire officials said.

“At this time, there is no estimated damage from the fire as only a small area of vegetation burned,” the statement said. The cause remains under investigation, but it appears that a downed power line may have started the blaze.

“The Newport Beach Fire Department would like to remind individuals that it is fire season and individuals should be careful when in wildland areas,” the statement said. “Additionally, if you see suspicious activity in these areas you should immediately notify the authorities.”

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

Mayor’s walk draws crowd in CdM

Mayor Nancy Gardner leads residents on a walk around Corona del Mar on Saturday. (Courtesy CdM Today)

About 35 people joined Mayor Nancy Gardner on Saturday morning on a 2.75 mile walk through Corona del Mar, which featured stops to review a few public works projects, local beaches, some history and updates on city issues like fire rings.

“This is active, outside and so informal,” said Corona del Mar resident Jacqueline Wittmeyer. “It’s a way to stay in touch. If you want to talk to the mayor or to the city manager, there they are. I love that.”

City Manager Dave Kiff and Kimberly Brandt, the city’s community development director, joined the walk, which began at 9 a.m. at the OASIS Senior Center. The group then walked along Fifth Avenue toward the new Upper Buck Gully trail head off Poppy Avenue, where Gardner explained the new trail that will be open to the public on May 30.

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

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Shake Shack seeks beer, wine license

The Shake Shack. (Courtesy CdM Today)

The Shake Shack soon may be serving beer and wine along with shakes and snacks, according to a liquor license application sign in the window of the old-time stand at 7703 E. Coast Hwy.

The Public Notice of Application to Sell Alcoholic Beverages was posted Tuesday. Applications typically take about 45 days to be processed. As of publication of this story, the Alcoholic Beverage Control’s online query system had new applications only as of May 7, and the Shake Shack’s application was not included or available.

The sign indicates the Shake Shack seeks to serve wine and beer.

The Shake Shack, which is owned by Ruby’s, reopened in June last year after an extensive remodel, reverting the 1940s-era stand to its original yellow and adding menu items.

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

99 Percent protest group rallies by Bank of America in CdM

Courtesy Corona del Mar Today

About 20 members of the 99 Percent Coalition group were staging a protest in front of Corona del Mar’s Bank of America, waving signs and addressing passersby with a microphone.

The protest was scheduled to run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday as part of a nationwide group of protests against Bank of America branches, organizers said.

“We are standing in solidarity with protesters at the Bank of America annual shareholder meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina,” an email about the event said. “We are protesting at B of A branches across the country to demand that CEO Bryian Moynihan hears that the 99% wants Bof A to do more to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, get its money out of politics and invest its profits in USA, to help rebuild the economy that bailed them out.”

Some cars honked as they drove past the branch at 3300 East Coast Highway.

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

Bike committee votes yes on CdM sharrows

Sharrows — marked lanes that remind motorists that bicycles may share the road — are back in the plans for Corona del Mar after a 6-1 vote at Monday’s Bicycle Safety Committee.

The possibility of adding sharrow markings along East Coast Highway had been a topic of discussion since December 2009, when the city’s Task Force on Cycling Safety first explored it. However, the cycling committee, which was formed after the task force expired, voted 2-2 in June 2011. While sharrows didn’t die completely and continued to be discussed from time to time, a few committee members were adamantly against them.

On Monday, however, one of the former opponents said he’d had a change of heart.

“I don’t have those reservations anymore,” Tony Petros told the group, describing a positive experience he had with sharrows last weekend in San Diego. “I’m a lot more comfortable now.” Previously, Petros had said that casual cyclists would be better off taking side roads instead of relying on sharrows to keep them safe.

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

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Siren test scheduled for noon in Newport

The city’s Outdoor Emergency Notification System will be tested between noon and 12:15 p.m. today, according to the city’s website.

The system consists of three warning sirens connected to a control panel at the Newport Beach Police Department. The sirens have been placed so they can be heard at Big Corona Beach as well as in West Newport and along the Balboa Peninsula.

The tests will be brief and the siren will sound at a reduced level. City officials say that if an actual emergency occurs, the sirens will sound for a longer time period and at much higher levels.

The tests will occur regularly at noon on the first Friday of each month.

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

NBPD will hold DUI checkpoint tonight

Newport Beach police traffic officers will conduct a sobriety checkpoint from 8 p.m. Friday until 3 a.m. Saturday, according to a police statement.

The checkpoint, which also will check for valid driver’s licenses, will be located on northbound Jamboree Road at San Joaquin Hills Drive.

Police chose the location because of its proximity to sites of higher concentrations of DUI crashes and arrests as well as its proximity to bars and restaurants, according to the statement.

“The checkpoint will be clearly marked and vehicles will be selected to move through the check lanes on a pre-set basis to ensure objectivity and timeliness,” the statement said. Officers will greet motorists and distribute NBPD brochures called “Driving Under The Influence.”

Funding for the checkpoint, as well as the department’s other regular DUI saturation patrols, was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

–Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

John Blom closing CdM photography studio

John L. Blom's photography studio in Corona del Mar. (Courtesy Amy Senk)

Photographer John L. Blom — who has been taking custom portraits in Corona del Mar for more than three decades — has sold his East Coast Highway studio.

Blom will continue to work as a photographer from his Newport Beach home, working with families by appointment and shooting on location, he said in a recent interview.

“By mid-May, I won’t be here anymore,” he said. “I’m cutting back. My real love is photographing families and kids, and I’ll do that more on location.”

Blom studied photography at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, then worked at a photography studio on Phoenix. The owner was considering opening a Fashion Island studio, then decided against it and asked Blom to move to Texas.

Instead, Blom moved to Newport Beach himself and opened a studio in Corona del Mar in 1979.

“I always wanted to be in Corona del Mar,” he said. “I would drive up and down Coast Highway, and then I saw a ‘For Rent’ sign. The landlord was very skeptical of me doing this business, but the space became too small within six months.”

–Amy Senk, @corondelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

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Planning Commission to discuss Ocean Blvd. lot merger Thursday

The Newport Beach Planning Commission will decide for a second time during its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday whether to allow a controversial merger of two lots on Ocean Boulevard.

The Planning Commission in October denied the merger of the lots at 2808 and 2812 Ocean Blvd., saying it would create a lot that was too big for the neighborhood.

Several neighbors told the commissioners that the merged lots would result in construction of a home that could violate a 1951 private agreement. That private agreement, which city officials say they can’t enforce, protects the views of two Ocean Lane homes by restricting the homes in front to one story.

– Amy Senk, @coronadelmartdy, Corona del Mar Today

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