TERRANCE PHILLIPS -- The Harbor Column

Newport Beach, community or commodity?

We’re not known as Newport Desert, Mountain or City, we’re called

Newport Beach. Generally, a town name attached to the word “beach” means

there is either sand, fish, water or waves involved.

Newport Beach was a city formed because we have all the above

ingredients.

Over the years, our waterfront location has been kind to boaters, the

tuna trade, Dory fishermen, “Wedgicons,” surfers and sun worshipers. The

most famous internationally recognized place around here is called the

Wedge.

The Wedge can pound your trunks into a “wedgie” faster than you can

say cowabunga. The Wedge is no place for nautical novices.

The city has stretched, grown and moaned since the 1920s, when we were

nothing more than a little picnic paradise with boat rental shops,

campgrounds and even a beauty pageant or two. We were a little bit like

the Atlantic City of the West Coast.

Our shores were dotted with cottages, hot dog stands and a port for

the commercial fishing trade. Many original local inhabitants owned

businesses that serviced tourism. It appears today that we have

flip-flopped and changed from beaches to banking and the tourism trade is

now servicing the residents.

At one time Newport Beach was a community. Are we now a commodity?

Have we sold out?

Our harbor front is beginning to look more like Marina Del Rey every

day.

Now the City Council is faced with finding reasons to justify a hotel

that consumes our waterfront at the expense of our charm and the fate of

an organization that contributed to creating it.

The thought of even considering to change, downsize or dislodge the

American Legion Post 291 is nothing short of a travesty. This

organization has put so much into our community during the past 60 years

the council should be giving them recognition plaques, not threatening

pink slips.

Oh, I know we need more money in the city coffers and the council has

not yet made any final determination as to the fate of our charm.

However, on Tuesday, the council will review just such a proposal.

Another hotel -- just what we need! Although we widened Newport

Boulevard down past Hoag Hospital heading toward the peninsula and added

two new wider bridges, the road still funnels into a two-lane street a

block later, doesn’t it? Am I missing something here?

It almost appears if you want to see our harbor in the future, you’ll

have to either purchase a million-dollar home or rent a room at a hotel.

Must we become tourists in our own town to savor the benefits of

living in our waterfront community?

What this town really needs is more people and organizations just like

the American Legion.

Anyone for or against such a proposal is encouraged to attend the

council meeting.

TERRANCE PHILLIPS is the Daily Pilot’s boating writer. You can leave a

message for him at (949) 760-0221 or via e-mail ato7

dailypilot@latimes.comf7 .