It’s had its ups and downs, but the Pacific Airshow soars today
Good morning. It’s Friday, Sept. 30. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
Beginning at about 10:30 this morning and continuing through Sunday, the Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach is expected to wow about 3 million spectators, assuming all goes according to plan.
The show has had its ups and downs in recent years. As was the case for all the wonderful annual events we’d come to take for granted, the spectacle was forced by the pandemic to be canceled in 2020.
Last year, all went smoothly enough on the first day of the three-day event held the first weekend of October, but on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 2, a major oil spill was detected off the coast, originating from an underwater pipe connected to the Elly platform about 4.5 miles offshore. Huntington Beach was in the path of that oil slick.
City officials had no choice on that dreadful Sunday but to shut the airshow down and send the public home so cleanup efforts could get underway in earnest. It was a heart-wrenching situation for environmentalists and no doubt extremely disappointing to airshow enthusiasts.
But the show is back, starting today! Fingers crossed, it will surmount earlier troubles and a bumpy relationship between City Hall and airshow director Kevin Elliott since last year’s abrupt shutdown.
Among the sights to behold will be the flights of the magnificent Thunderbirds demonstration pilot team, celebrating the U.S. Air Force’s 75th anniversary with a thrilling display of nerves and skill.
My colleague Matt Szabo attended a media event for the show yesterday. There he spoke to U.S. Air Force Capt. Daniel Katz, who explained that Thunderbird planes Nos. 1 through 4 will fly in a diamond formation during the show. Katz is the No. 6 pilot, one of two solos along with the No. 5 pilot.
“You’ll see us fly at each other real fast,” Katz said. “We’ll have a closing speed of about 1,000 miles an hour and pass about 75 feet apart. We fly upside down real well.”
Good to know.
Ready to see it? Here are some of the details Szabo nailed down for us: The airshow runs from about 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, with full schedules available by downloading the Pacific Airshow app. It will also air live on Hulu on Saturday and Sunday, with a replay to follow immediately following the event each day. There will also be on-demand replay available after the weekend. Friday is more of a practice day. The airshow is free to the public, though ticketed options are available.
Elliott, who was presented a special baton from the Golden Knights at Thursday’s event, said the lingering marine layer could be a concern. But he is otherwise thrilled to get the show underway, Szabo reports.
“We’re really excited to get things rocking and rolling,” Elliott said. “It’s going to be great out on the beach. It’s our biggest setup by far, in terms of the size and scope of it. It’s the most hospitality we’ve ever sold. I think things are looking the best that they’ve looked, and I feel good about that.”
MORE NEWS
— A site in Huntington Beach occupied by Burlington Coat Factory is poised to become a seven-story mixed-use development, following a decision this week by the city’s planning commission. Set within the Bella Terra Mall, the project, assuming the City Council gives its blessing, will include 300 apartments ranging in size from studio up to three bedrooms, a three-level podium parking garage and 25,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. The project was submitted by DJM Capital Partners, co-owner of Bella Terra.
— A grassroots group, Friends of Newport Harbor, held a protest and campaigned City Hall Tuesday night to delay an application submitted to the state Coastal Commission for the construction of a long-planned confined aquatic dredged disposal site in lower Newport Harbor. But they went away disappointed: A discussion of the item was not on the City Council’s agenda that night, so no action was taken. The Coastal Commission is expected to consider the city’s plan on Friday, Oct. 14.
— The Center for Biological Diversity on Wednesday sued the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for allegedly failing to review decades-old plans for offshore oil platforms near Huntington Beach. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, comes a year after a major oil spill linked to Platform Elly in the region caused significant damage to wildlife and beaches (and, as mentioned above, shut down the 2021 edition of the Pacific Airshow).
— A woman who on Sunday night allegedly ran over a man with her Honda Civic in Cypress has been charged with his death and is in jail on $1-million bail. The woman, Hannah Star Esser, 20, is charged with the murder of Victor Anthony Luis, 43. According to prosecutors, the woman thought Luis was trying to run over a cat with an SUV. Esser confronted Luis and, during the argument, both got out of their vehicles. Esser climbed back into her car, “made a U-turn, accelerated and drove directly at” and struck Luis, prosecutors said in a news release. He was launched onto the hood of her car, then landed in the street, where he was later pronounced dead, officials said.
— A pair of climbers who died trying to scale a mountainside east of Idyllwild were identified Thursday as a man and woman from Huntington Beach. Gavin Escobar, 31, and Chelsea Walsh, 33, were fatally injured about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday near the Tahquitz Peak Fire Lookout, southeast of Humber Park, within the San Bernardino National Forest, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The incident remains under investigation.
— A Laguna Hills physician, Mohamed Waddah El-Nachef, 69, pleaded guilty Wednesday to orchestrating a scheme to defraud Medi-Cal out of $20 million, according to a report from City News Service. The doctor will be required to pay $2.3 million in restitution and surrender his medical license, according to the attorney general’s office, which prosecuted the case. He is scheduled to be sentenced next Aug. 1.
LIFE & LEISURE
— Disneyland fanatics now have the chance to own a piece of the park’s iconic Pirates of the Caribbean ride: a Pirates of the Caribbean Heritage Timeline, which is being sold at the park’s Disneyana store and was crafted from two trees that once stood at the entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and were cut down in the ride’s most recent renovation. This is a limited edition; there are just 45 of the souvenirs available — at $6,500 each.
— Knott’s Berry Farm, which banned unaccompanied minors following a series of fights involving teenagers over the summer, announced Wednesday that adults accompanying groups of minors to its Halloween after-hours event may receive a free ticket for admission.
SPORTS
— With two prolific players on the pins, the Newport Harbor High girls’ volleyball team has found a path to sustained success. A four-set win over crosstown rival Corona del Mar on Wednesday gave the Sailors a four-match winning streak, the third time the program has strung together that many wins this season.
— One of the two Southland high school football games Times’ prep sports columnist Eric Sondheimer says are top matches this week pits Santa Margarita (4-1) against Orange Lutheran (4-1) at Orange Coast College, 7 p.m., Friday. “Third place in the Trinity League likely will be decided in this league opener,” Sondheimer writes. “Santa Margarita has an explosive offense led by quarterback Jaxon Potter and receivers Emmett Mosley and Niko Lopez. Orange Lutheran has its own top quarterback in sophomore TJ Lateef, who has passed for nearly 1,400 yards. The pick: Santa Margarita.”
— The Angels’ No. 1 prospect, catcher Logan O’Hoppe, collected a hit in his first MLB at-bat in the Halos’ 4-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. “He was great,” starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen said. “He came prepared today and I didn’t feel like we were ever out of whack. We’re always on the same page. He never lost composure. I think that’s a huge thing.”
CALENDAR THIS
— Irvine Regional Park in Orange will mark its 125th anniversary on Saturday. The event runs from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and will include a self-guided historical tour, interactive booths and demonstrations of adobe brick-making, basket-weaving, candle-making and blacksmithing. OC Parks is presenting Shakespeare and dance performances as well as free concerts on the Acorn Stage from Flashback Heart Attack and Analog Jukebox. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets to watch the shows. Admission is free. Parking is $5 per vehicle, and offsite parking is also available for $5 at Santiago Canyon College Lots 1 and 2 with a free shuttle service.
KEEP IN TOUCH
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