O.C.’s ‘hidden minority’ celebrates Prop. 8 ruling

Same-sex couple Agustin Gonzalez, far left, and Roman Beltran, second from left, attend a rally hosted by the Orange County Equality Coalition and the Gay Neighbors, Families, and Friends of Santa Ana. The rally celebrated a federal court's ruling that could be a step toward overturning Proposition 8. It was held at Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Santa Ana. (KEVIN CHANG, Daily Pilot / February 7, 2012)

Supporters of same-sex marriage called Tuesday’s federal court ruling negating Proposition 8 a step in the right direction while opponents argued that the will of California voters should stand.

“It is incredible, marvelous,” Newport Beach Dr. Jorge Rodriguez said of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to overturn the proposition on constitutional grounds. “I’m really reminded of that Martin Luther King quote that I love: ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’”

Rodriguez, a Laguna Beach resident who works at Orange Coast Medical Group, said that as a doctor he sees health problems, including depression, in patients who do not feel validated.

As someone “who’s in the people business,” he said he has noticed that “the wellness of society influences the wellness of the individual.”

– Lauren Williams, @lawilliams30, Daily Pilot

…Continue reading O.C.’s ‘hidden minority’ celebrates Prop. 8 ruling

Council OKs lifting ban on selling fireworks

The Huntington Beach City Council voted Tuesday to lift the ban on the usage and sale of safe-and-sane fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday for a trial period of two years, despite pleas from dozens of residents who flooded the City Council Chambers in opposition.

The vote also came despite the opinions of the police and fire chiefs, who both strongly opposed lifting the ban.

The council approved the ordinance with a 5-2 vote, with Councilwoman Connie Boardman and Councilman Joe Shaw dissenting.

“I’m going to work as hard as I can … to repeal it,” Boardman said.

Mayor Don Hansen introduced the proposal as his first item on the list as mayor and said he wanted Huntington Beach residents to enjoy the tradition of fireworks just like neighboring cities that allow it.

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Howard Jarvis Assn. supports Sunset Beach independence

A political watchdog group has joined forces with the Citizen’s Assn. of Sunset Beach in its appeal of a recent court decision regarding the community’s annexation to Huntington Beach.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., which formed in 1978 to defend taxpayers’ rights, plans to prepare the briefs and oral arguments for the association’s appeal of Orange County Superior Court Judge Frederick P. Horn’s August decision to allow Huntington to annex the neighboring seaside community.

Association President Jack Markovitz said his group planned to file its appeal as soon as Horn issued a signed final judgment on the case. He expected the judgment within the coming days.

The Jarvis group’s founders, Howard and Estelle Jarvis, aided the passage of Proposition 13, which limits property taxes, in 1978, and the group supported Proposition 218, which grants residents the right to vote on new taxes, in 1996.

Proposition 218 became a point of contention during the court case over Sunset Beach, as the association claimed that it was unconstitutional to annex the neighborhood without letting residents vote on whether they would pay the same taxes as the rest of Huntington. The city argued that the taxes did not count as new because they were already in place before the annexation.

…Continue reading Howard Jarvis Assn. supports Sunset Beach independence

Coast Guard calls off search for bodyboarder

Big waves near the Los Angeles-Orange County line could have claimed a bodyboarder. The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday called off a search for Jowayne Bindford, 24, of Long Beach. He went missing off Surfside, a gated enclave between Seal Beach and Sunset Beach.

Bindford, according to an alert from the Coast Guard, was last spotted on his board 200 yards offshore at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

A Coast Guard helicopter dispatched from Los Angeles and a response boat from Long Beach spent nine hours scouring Seal Beach, Sunset Beach and Huntington Beach. Bindford’s family kept vigil along the coast, according to the Orange County Register.

The Coast Guard said it would resume the search if new information about Bindford became available.

Eight- to 10-foot waves rolled into Huntington Beach and some sets reached 12 feet, said Dan Kaiahua, a Huntington Beach city lifeguard, who also warned of riptides.

The high tide prevented beachgoers from watching the surf from many spots and made access difficult for surfers in some spots, he said.

Another factor also kept crowds and the number of surfers to a minimum: school started this week in Huntington Beach.

– Lauren Williams contributed to this article.

Sunset now annexed, official says

Sunset Beach is now officially part of Huntington Beach, a spokesman for a county commission said Monday.

Benjamin Legbandt, a policy analyst for the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, said his group had filed paperwork with the county earlier in the day. The state will have to approve the paperwork as well, but Legbandt called that an administrative formality and said the annexation can be considered complete.

“We’ll probably send the notification to the affected agencies tomorrow,” he said.

…Continue reading Sunset now annexed, official says

Sunset now annexed, official says

Judge strikes down Sunset group’s petition

Huntington Beach has declared the annexation of Sunset Beach a “done deal” after a judge ruled Thursday that the transition may proceed.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Frederick P. Horn ruled against the Citizen’s Assn. of Sunset Beach’s petition to block the annexation until Sunset residents could vote on paying the same taxes as the rest of Huntington. Horn declared that Sunset met the criteria for an island annexation and that the taxes Sunset residents would pay after the move did not count as new taxes because they were already established in the city.

City Attorney Jennifer McGrath said the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, will file an official notice of annexation with the state Monday. By Wednesday, she said, Sunset will officially be part of Huntington.

…Continue reading Judge strikes down Sunset group’s petition

Happy birthday to Editor John Canalis

The staff at Times Community News South gather for a photo with Editor John Canalis on his 40th birthday Friday.

Judge promises rule in Sunset annexation

The fate of Huntington Beach’s annexation of Sunset Beach is in the hands of a judge after attorneys for the city, a county commission and a residents’ group squared off in court Thursday.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Frederick P. Horn promised to come back with a ruling after hearing arguments for and against the annexation of the seaside community. Horn did not give a time frame for when he would make his decision.

At the hearing, an attorney for the Citizen’s Assn. of Sunset Beach argued that the annexation was unconstitutional because it would result in Sunset residents paying new taxes. Attorneys for the city and the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, argued that taxes and annexation were different issues and that the commission had followed protocol in approving the transaction.

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Sam Perricone dies at 91; giant of citrus industry

Sam Perricone owned 500 acres of avocados in San Diego County and numerous orange groves in California and Arizona. He also was a partner in a company that grows Cuties brand mandarins and owned packinghouses in California and Arizona.

By the time he was 16 in 1936, Sam Perricone was picking and packing lemons in Corona and Riverside and then hauling them to Los Angeles in his small pickup truck to sell at the Grand Central Market.

Perricone, who became a giant of the citrus industry, died of congestive heart failure Friday at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, said his daughter Lucy Perricone. He was 91.

A resident of the Orange County community of Sunset Beach, Perricone owned or was a partner in about 25 businesses related to agriculture.

That included owning some 500 acres of avocados in Pauma Valley in San Diego County and numerous orange groves in California and Arizona. He also was a partner in a company that grows Cuties brand mandarins and owned packinghouses in California and Arizona.

…Continue reading Sam Perricone dies at 91; giant of citrus industry