Mansoor accuses opponent of willingness to work with unions

Assemblyman Allan Mansoor speaks at a Surf City Tea-sponosored forum at the Huntington Beach Central Library on Monday. (SCOTT SMELTZER)

Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) told a conservative group Monday that he believes his Republican opponent in the June 5 primary will bow down to unions and special-interest groups in Sacramento.

During a Surf City Tea-sponsored forum in the Huntington Beach Central Library, Mansoor said Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, who is running against him in the 74th Assembly District race, supports unions and raising taxes.

“That’s a clear difference between me and my opponent, who calls herself Republican,” he said.

Daigle said Tuesday that there is no basis to Mansoor’s claims.

“There’s nothing in my record of public service that suggests I’m a tax-raiser,” she said. “I would say that together with my colleagues, we’ve gotten more pension reform [in Newport Beach] than Allan [did when he was on the Costa Mesa council].

“Several of the employee groups are now paying their full share of their employee pension, and we’re in the process of working with police and fire, and we anticipate reaching an agreement by the end of the month.”

–Mona Shadia, @MonaShadia, HB Independent

…Continue reading “Mansoor accuses opponent of willingness to work with unions”

Crowd cries out against class sizes in H.B.

Overcrowding — of more than one kind — was the theme at the Ocean View School District’s board meeting Tuesday, as dozens of people came to protest larger class sizes while district leaders pleaded for the crowd to thin so the meeting could take place.

As the clock ticked past 7 p.m., an overflow audience of teachers, parents and students crammed the boardroom and spilled out into the adjoining rooms of the district headquarters. The visitors, some of whom circulated petitions and brought signs and balloons with slogans, showed up in response to the board’s May 1 vote to increase class sizes in the lower grades.

Starting this fall, student-to-teacher ratios in kindergarten through third grade will increase from 24-to-1 to 29-to-1 to help fill a state budget shortfall. The district adopted the current ratio three years ago after having limited classes to 20 students.

The meeting Tuesday was impassioned, as speakers took the microphone for nearly two hours to urge the board to reconsider its vote. For a while, though, it looked as if a meeting might not take place at all.

With the standing-room-only crowd exceeding the allowed capacity of 180 for the boardroom, Assistant Supt. of Administrative Services Mark Schiel and board President Tracy Pellman asked some people to leave so the meeting could legally begin. Minutes later, district officials called the Fire Department to keep an eye on the crowd for safety purposes.

–Michael Miller, @MichaelMillerHB, HB Independent

…Continue reading “Crowd cries out against class sizes in H.B.”

H.B. eateries hosting fundraisers for Brashears family

Marina High School has announced a series of fundraisers in the coming weeks for the family of Austin Brashears, the 2009 graduate who died Saturday in a crash in New Zealand.

Principal Paul Morrow said the school has partnered with a pair of eateries and plans to collect funds on campus to send to Brashears’ family, which is trying to raise enough to have his body transported back to the United States.

The first fundraiser is from 2 to 11 p.m. Wednesday at Hot Off the Grill at 16522 Bolsa Chica St. in Huntington Beach. All proceeds from customers who wish to donate will go to the Bring Austin Home campaign, as it’s formally known on PayPal. Restaurant management has asked that customers staple a document with Brashears’ name on it to their receipt for bookkeeping purposes.

Cherry on Top, a frozen yogurt shop at 7011 Warner Ave. in Huntington Beach, has a fundraiser planned from 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday. The shop will donate 30% of proceeds from any customers who mention the campaign.

The school also plans to gather donations through a Miracle Minute fundraiser, in which the student body passes around a bucket for 60 seconds and classmates drop in donations. The date has not yet been set.

–Michael Miller, @MichaelMillerHB, HB Independent

…Continue reading “H.B. eateries hosting fundraisers for Brashears family”

Family, friends work to ‘Bring Austin Home’

When Austin Brashears was ready to take off for New Zealand, his mother’s boss lent him a small item for his travels: a backpack. The Huntington Beach resident had arranged a semester abroad, and he didn’t intend to spend all his time outside class lounging in the dorm.

“He was not going to be laying around playing Xbox,” said Debbie Kagawa, chief financial officer of Capital Resources & Insurance, Inc., where Brashears’ mother has worked for more than 10 years. “He was going to be out seeing people.”

Now Kagawa, who joined so many others in seeing Brashears off, is part of a group working soberly to bring him home.

Brashears, who graduated from Marina High School in 2009, died Saturday along with two others when their minivan rolled over on a New Zealand highway. The Boston University student’s family and friends have launched a campaign titled Bring Austin Home to raise the funds to fly his body back to the United States.

Kagawa, who oversees the campaign’s PayPal account, said more than $7,000 has come in since she put it online Sunday.

–Michael Miller, @MichaelMillerHB, HB Independent

…Continue reading “Family, friends work to ‘Bring Austin Home’”

Edison falls short of league title in softball

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Kendra Wood took pause afterward, searching for that little something extra to say. The Edison assistant softball coach was attempting to describe a key sequence that occurred – or rather, never materialized, for the Chargers, during the middle stages of their Thursday showdown against Los Alamitos.

“That fourth inning, not being able to get it done…” Wood said, before tailing off and going silent.

“We just needed that extra hit, that sacrifice fly,” she continued, still trying to sum up a crucial turning point in the game that came in the fourth inning. ”Something. Anything.”

In a game that determined the 2012 Sunset League champion, it was Los Alamitos which emerged with the crown. The Griffins led the entire way but had to fend off two big threats by the Chargers late, to come away with a 3-2 victory at Edison.

The outcome put the Griffins at 9-1 in league and 22-6 overall. Edison ended league play in second place at 8-2 and went to 23-4 on the year.

–Mike Sciacca, @MikeSciacca, HB Independent

…Continue reading “Edison falls short of league title in softball”

Inspections net 71 violations at massage parlors in H.B.

Recent inspections of 20 massage parlors in Huntington Beach uncovered 71 municipal code and building safety violations, and at least three parlors are facing temporary closure.

The May 5 inspections were part of an ongoing investigation regarding allegations of prostitution and human trafficking, according to a report posted on the Huntington Beach Police Department’s Facebook page. The social media posting was confirmed by Police Chief Ken Small.

No arrests were made for prostitution or trafficking.

“Everybody knows that trafficking is taking place,” Small said, adding that it’s often difficult to get victims to cooperate with police out of fear of retaliation.

Women involved in prostitution at massage parlors are often forced into it as a way to pay off the debt they owe to those who brought them to the United States, he said.

Employees performing massages with customers’ genitalia exposed were among the violations noted during the inspections, as were masseurs and businesses operating without proper licenses.

–Mona Shadia, @MonaShadia, HB Independent

…Continue reading “Inspections net 71 violations at massage parlors in H.B.”

H.B., F.V. teachers chosen for county’s top 5

Two teachers from Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley school districts are among the five Orange County Teachers of the Year.

Fountain Valley School District’s Talbert Middle School science teacher John Wood and Huntington Beach City School District’s Peterson Elementary third-grade GATE teacher Deanna Lynn Zamiska were selected after a countywide search, said Orange County Department of Education Coordinator of Academic Events Sharon Nelson.

The best four K-12 teachers and one community college teacher are selected a year ahead, which makes them 2013′s teachers of the year.

The four K-12 teachers who were named will go on to compete at the state level in the California Teachers of the Year program, Nelson said.

The other teachers are Cypress College geology professor Victoria Ann Castle, Tustin Unified School District’s Beckman High School AP history teacher David Lawrence Goldenberg, and Tustin Unified School District’s Peters Canyon Elementary third-grade teacher Jennifer Kathleen Sandland.

—Mona Shadia, @MonaShadia, HB Independent

Two men killed in separate collisions in H.B.

Two men were killed and several people including an infant were injured in two separate Huntington Beach car crashes that happened within 24 hours of each other.

Abraham Perez, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday after a collision at Bolsa Chica Street and Tasman Drive, Lt. Mitch O’Brien said. The driver of an orange 1973 Ford Bronco lost control, crossed over the center divider and hit Perez’s silver 2000 Honda Civic.

The 20-year-old Bronco driver, whose name has not been released, was in the car with her 7-month-old daughter. The woman was treated for minor injures, but the baby sustained severe injuries and remains in critical condition, according to police.

–Mona Shadia, @MonaShadia, HB Independent

…Continue reading “Two men killed in separate collisions in H.B.”

Thursday a big day for baseball in H.B.

Marina's Jack Westermeyer delivers a pitch against Edison during a game at Marina High School. (SCOTT SMELTZER)

It’s only fitting that the Sunset League baseball race— wild and wacky one all throughout — would come down to the final day of the regular season. All that’s riding on the outcome of Thursday games is a league championship, playoff berths and league seedings for the upcoming postseason.

On Tuesday, Marina stayed in contention for the Sunset title by edging visiting Huntington Beach, 5-4, Fountain Valley took a 6-1 decision from Newport Harbor and Los Alamitos kept its one-game lead and first-place standing by downing Edison, 8-2.

Thursday’s schedule has Edison at Los Alamitos, Fountain Valley at Newport Harbor, and Marina at Huntington, all at 3:15 p.m.

The title in the Golden West League also is up for grabs on the final day of the regular season Thursday, and Ocean View is in line for that top spot.

–Mike Sciacca, @MikeSciacca, HB Independent

…Continue reading “Thursday a big day for baseball in H.B.”

Seahawks, Oilers move on in boys’ volleyball

Ocean View players celebrate after defeating Valencia of Placentia, 3-1, in a first-round CIF Southern Section boys' volleyball match Tuesday. (KEVIN CHANG)

Opening night of the CIF Southern Section boys’ volleyball playoffs saw both Ocean View and Huntington Beach face early challenges Tuesday, but came on strong down the stretch to advance in postseason play.

Ocean View improved to 16-4 by downing visiting Valencia of Placentia, 25-23, 21-25, 27-25, 25-14, in a Division 3 match. Huntington Beach scored a 24-26, 25-15, 25-19, 25-14 win over visiting Harvard-Westlake in a Division 1 opener.

Adam Wills had 39 kills and 31 digs for Golden West League-champion Ocean View. Also making big contributions were Elijah Nolasco with 45 digs, Ralph Cabiltes with five digs and 51 assists, and August Oda with nine kills.

Valencia was the No. 3 team from the Empire League.

“We played a well-rounded match and I am proud of our performance tonight,” Seahawks Coach Seth Cutrell said. “Valencia was a tough first-round opponent and they played a solid match. I knew that if would be loud and stayed positive, we could jump on Valencia and get an early lead. Even in game three, when Valencia made a late push and forced us to take a timeout (at 24-24), I knew we were still going to come out on top. Winning game three gave us the push we needed to finish them in game four.”

–Mike Sciacca, @MikeSciacca, HB Independent

…Continue reading “Seahawks, Oilers move on in boys’ volleyball”