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
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