West Newport: Party will go on

Sue Doyle

BALBOA -- Michelle St. Amour and her two roommates will kick off the

Fourth of July with a gigantic breakfast of red, white and blue pancakes

for her neighbors on what she calls the “best holiday down on the

peninsula.”

Then it’s party time -- the first keg comes at 8 a.m., St. Amour said.

She will party-hop from patio to patio throughout the day.

The 26-year-old Newport Beach resident and her friends plan to celebrate

Independence Day West Newport-style: wild and crazy. That section of the

city has been dubbed the “War Zone” because of its notorious parties that

have often gone out of control.

“We don’t want a nice quiet Fourth of July,” St. Amour said. “It just

wouldn’t be the same.”

It’s a tradition that law enforcement for years has tried to contain. The

entire Newport Beach Police Department, all reserve officers, plus backup

from the California Highway Patrol and Orange County Sheriff’s

Department, will hit the streets today.

Also, city officials have mailed letters asking residents to reconsider

throwing a bash.

But St. Amour said she would not skip the celebration. She and her

friends know how to have fun without breaking the law. Many locals blame

out-of-towners for the craziness, saying the visitors don’t care about

the consequences and spoil the fun for everyone.

“It’s mainly the outsiders who come here and ruin things,” St. Amour

said. “I wish they’d just put a big fence around the town and you’d have

to show that you lived here.”

Other residents, like Granville Kirkup, said they feel authorities are

punishing them with the party advisory.

“We live in a resort town, not a police state,” said Kirkup, who lives on

West Ocean Front.

But the partying has already started. The number of alcohol-related

arrests spiked over the weekend, just as authorities had expected.

Not one Newport Beach resident was among the seven people arrested for

driving under the influence of alcohol, according to police records.

However, two Newport Beach residents were among the five people arrested

for public intoxication.

Not all arrests were alcohol-related. On Sunday, a bicycle officer

arrested a suspected gang member for allegedly possessing a loaded gun in

a car at Newport Pier. The 17-year-old San Bernardino resident was taken

into custody and then released to his parents, officials said.