City approves ban on low-flying planes

Any plane flying lower than 1,000 feet over Huntington Beach will

now be cited and fined.

In a move that has many residents cheering with relief, the City

Council approved an ordinance Tuesday night that will prohibit

banner-towing planes from flying over the city.

Councilwoman Connie Boardman introduced the ordinance, which

passed on a 4 to 1 vote, in July at the request of city residents.

Although residents have long complained about the planes that fill

the skies over the beaches and city each summer, city officials said

they were under the impression that the sky was out of their

political power. It was thought that the planes fell under the

jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration, Boardman said.

That changed in January when Judge Helen Gillmor of the 9th U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a Honolulu ordinance

that gave cities the right to regulate aerial advertising.

Councilman Ralph Bauer, who cast the dissenting vote Tuesday

night, said he thinks enforcing the rule will be financial folly.

“The police department has budgeted no money [for enforcing

this],” he said. “They are not going to scramble helicopters [to

follow the planes]. We’re not going to be pursuing this when planes

are flying over.”

He cited the city’s budget woes as one of the main reasons for his

opposition of the ordinance.

“I just think that in this day and age it’s not a problem worth

fighting,” he said.

Councilwoman Grace Winchell voted in favor of the ordinance, but

in part agreed with Bauer.

“I’m not totally comfortable with this ordinance because there are

enforcement problems,” she said.

Council members Peter Green and Pam Julien-Houchen were absent.

--Jose Paul Corona

State court denies high school district appeal

The California Supreme Court denied a petition filed by the

Huntington Beach Union High School District to appeal a decision that

deemed its controversial transfer policy unconstitutional.

The high school district board decided in June to petition the

state Supreme Court after an appellate court ruled its policy of

denying student transfers based on race unconstitutional on May 31.

“It feels good because the government has to live by the

Constitution just as we citizens do,” said Bruce Crawford, the

Fountain Valley resident who sued the school district in September of

1999 for not allowing a student to transfer because of his race.

A white student was denied a transfer from Ocean View High School,

which is primarily Latino, to the predominantly white Fountain Valley

High School, because of his race.

The district had been denying applications of white students who

wanted to transfer out of certain high schools in the district in

order to preserve what they said was an ethnic balance.

Administrators introduced the policy in 1993 as a way to stave off

segregation.

“It’s unconstitutional,” said Sharon L. Browne, lead counsel and

principal attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, the nonprofit

legal foundation that is representing Crawford. “This is a real win

for all parents and students in California, because parents can now

choose what school can meet the needs of their child.”

School district officials and attorneys said they never saw the

denial coming.

“We’re surprised,” said Supt. Susan Roper of the denial. “We

really thought that our appeal really followed the past precedents of

the California Supreme Court.”

Roper has been allowing students on the waiting list to transfer

per the instructions of the school board.

“I’m surprised that the Supreme Court didn’t choose to review it,”

said Dave Larsen, attorney for the school district. “It doesn’t

change the nature of the school district’s obligation with regards to

race relations.”

While the California Supreme Court chose not the hear the

district’s petition, school officials still have other options before

them.

The California Department of Education was a co-defendant in the

suit and because the case involves federal law, they can petition the

United States Supreme Court, Browne said.

School officials would not say what their next course of action

would be. The case will be discussed by the board of trustees in a

close session meeting on Sept. 10, Roper said.

Whatever the final decision is, it could impact school district’s

throughout the state, which is one of the reasons that the district

originally decided to file the petition.

While Browne did not know if the district will appeal the case,

Crawford believes that it is a possibility.

“In their arguments and briefs they made oblique references to

federal law,” he said.

--Jose Paul Corona

Boeing opens new C-17 quick response facility

Boeing has opened a new state-of-the-art C-17 Quick Response

Center in Huntington Beach.

The center, which will house 130 employees on Graham Street near

McFadden Avenue, opened Aug. 20. It is a highly specialized factory

that supports short-notice or urgent requirements that arise when

building the advanced airlifter, which is also known as the

Globemaster III.

Boeing was recently awarded a new contract for 60 additional C-17

planes, which are being built at Boeing’s Long Beach plant. The

contract will ensure that Boeing employees in both Long Beach and

Huntington Beach will have jobs through 2008, said Boeing spokesman

Rick Sanford.

The employees at the Quick Response Center can produce any of the

parts needed for the C-17. There are about 75 mills, lathes, press

brakes, sanders, saws, grinders and other pieces of equipment that

allow Boeing employees to respond quickly when need be.

The Quick Response Center underwent extensive renovation before it

was opened. Electrical service and lighting were upgraded,

foundations for large machine tools were installed, ventilation was

improved and a dust collection system was installed, Sanford said.

A separate room with a new pollution control system meant to

protect employees and the environment was also installed and a fully

contained team support center was built in the center of the building

to support shop floor operations.

--Jose Paul Corona