TimesOC: Kids Ocean Day brings 600 to Huntington Beach to clean up the sands
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Good morning. It’s Wednesday, the first day of June. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
Kids Ocean Day, an annual event sponsored by the California Coastal Commission in hopes of encouraging youth to care for the protection of the world’s oceans, was celebrated Tuesday in Huntington Beach. The nonprofit Orange County Coastkeeper takes the lead on the effort here in our county to organize the day.
My colleague Matt Szabo, who covers Huntington Beach for the Daily Pilot, was on the sand along with photographer Kevin Chang to document the morning event, when almost 600 kids from nine inland O.C. elementary schools took up the challenge to do a post-Memorial Day weekend cleanup of the popular state beach.
Children from Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Orange and Stanton participated, collectively picking up more than 115 pounds of trash at the beach north of Magnolia Street.
Ray Hiemstra, associate director of programs for Orange County Coastkeeper, told Szabo the beach cleanup is a good way to teach children about protecting the environment because they come across discarded items that are very relatable to them, including balloons and those little plastic straws that are attached to kid-sized juice boxes.
“We can talk about, you know, ‘Remember those balloons at the birthday party? Make sure they don’t get away, because here’s where they end up,” Hiemstra said.
At the end of their trash-collecting adventure, the students lined their bodies up on the sand to create a human aerial artwork that included a seahorse, smiling face and whale tale and spelled out a hopeful environmental message: “Share Joy,” photographed from above by a drone.
There’s sure to be a repeat of the event next year. As Hiemstra said, “Unfortunately, we never run out of trash.”
MORE NEWS
— Three days after the Anaheim City Council unanimously voted to kill the Angel Stadium sale, the Angels agreed Friday not to contest the decision, Bill Shaikin reports for The Times.
— Costa Mesa officials last month terminated a contract with the private firm that has provided jail services for the city since 2013, citing a “mass resignation” of employees that would have left only two properly trained jailers at the overburdened facility. City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison has been authorized to negotiate an agreement with the Huntington Beach Police Department or to hire temporary staffing for the city jail.
— Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana will be closed through Friday because of a credible threat to the campus, school officials said Tuesday. Officials notified police after learning of the threat Tuesday, according to a letter sent to parents and students by school President Michael Brennan and Principal Frances Clare.
LIFE & LEISURE
— A host of Orange County communities held Memorial Day events this year. Among them was the 13th annual Field of Honor boasting 1,776 American flags set up in Castaways Park by the Exchange Club of Newport Harbor.
— Newport Harbor High School is preparing to say farewell to Joe Robinson, a much-loved educator who has taught at the campus since 1969 and has decided he’d like to retire now that he’s 82. If you attended Newport Harbor you might have learned Spanish, Latin or art history from him. “I feel sorry for all the kids that aren’t going to have a chance to have him as a teacher,” said one former student.
— The Disneyland Resort has paused the sale of all annual passes as the theme park works to control crowding at the start of the busy summer travel season. Starting this week, California residents can buy a 3-day ticket, starting at $249 per person for admission on Mondays through Thursdays or $299 for any day including weekends.
— Graduation season has arrived: Orange Coast College handed out more than 3,800 associate degrees Friday night at the Pacific Amphitheatre at the OC Fair & Event Center. It was the first in-person graduation the community college has held in the more than two years since the pandemic took hold but the 74th overall commencement ceremony since the campus opened in 1948.
SPORTS
— Anaheim High senior Jillian Albayati became the first girl to start a Southern Section championship baseball game when the Colonists played for the Division 6 title this season. Her pitching skills have drawn notice; she was even invited to an Angels game. All this despite the fact she experienced the devastating death of a close friend two months ago. Our colleague Luca Evans took a look at Albayati’s success on the mound while recovering from her loss.
— Corona del Mar High School senior Jason Plumb broke a 97-year title drought for the county’s male athletes on Saturday at Clovis Buchanan High when he won the boys’ long jump title in the CIF State track and field championships. According to our colleague Andrew Turner, the previous O.C. winners at state included: Santa Ana’s Ernest Plavan in 1915, Huntington Beach’s Verden Nash in 1922 and Virgil Elliot in 1924. Turner notes Nash won three state titles in a row in the event, winning the previous two while competing for Chino. Fullerton’s Fred Osborne won the boys’ long jump state championship in 1925, the last county athlete to accomplish that feat before Plumb.
KEEP IN TOUCH
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