Newport must be proactive

This letter is in response to Paul James Baldwin’s letter titled

“Fourth of July alcohol sale ban doesn’t make sense for Newport”

(Sept. 1).

I think Baldwin may have misunderstood the message we attempted to

send to the City Council at the Study Session on Aug. 27.

The city has come to be proactive, not reactive, to the

“festivities” (as Baldwin terms the annual Fourth of July celebration

in Newport).

Baldwin may not have read Police Chief Bob McDonell’s report

concerning the results of this past year’s festivities:

* 162 arrests;

* 1,344 citations; * Three rape investigations;

* One gang rape investigation;

* 14 reported bike thefts;

* 11 reports thefts from vehicles;

* One victim had 18 stitches in his head;

* One victim had six broken teeth and a broken nose;

* Gunfire by a resident in response to bottle rockets shot onto

his patio;

* One brandishing by a man at the pier of a loaded handgun; and

* One fight which quickly led to a crowd of some 300 people

surrounding 30 officers, resulting in the arrest of one individual

who attempted to incite the crowd to act against the officers -- in

other words, a near riot.

And the festivities on July 4 weren’t much different than those

held over the last 20-plus years in West Newport.

What did these festivities cost? As Baldwin points out, the

monetary cost alone this year was at least $90,643.

We respectfully request that Baldwin obtain from the Police

Department a copy of the videotape that McDonell showed to the

council on Aug. 27.

After viewing the tape, Baldwin should ask himself: Was this

Florence and Normandy after the first King verdict? Was this the

Watts Riot of the early ‘60s? No, this is River Avenue and Balboa

Boulevard. This is Neptune Avenue. This is Seashore Drive. This is

the numbered streets and, yes -- regrettably and shamefully -- this

is the Fourth of July in Newport Beach.

Many of us in West Newport believe that with proper advance

aggressive planning and the implementation of an action plan (i.e., a

proactive approach rather than our annual reactive efforts), we might

be able to stop such regrettable incidents before someone is killed

or before that near-riot turns into a real one.

We understand that the cities of Huntington Beach and Palm Springs

have said “enough is enough” and pursued aggressive (if not dramatic)

changes in order to discourage what Councilman John Heffernan so

simply and aptly described as “unacceptable behavior.”

We think the council is headed in the right direction by forming a

committee of citizens, the City Attorney’s Office, the Police

Department and council members to come up with alternatives, to

implement those alternatives and to advise the community of the new

policies well in advance of July 4, 2003.

Baldwin pooh-poohs several ideas, including discouraging the sale

of alcohol in the immediate area, discouraging landlords from renting

to rowdies simply for profit, and a resident/guest pass alternative

(which, by the way, has worked well for years in Pasadena on the day

of the Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl).

Baldwin’s one idea of checkpoints is worthwhile, but again it is

reactive, not proactive. We applaud the council for moving in a

positive direction rather than accepting Baldwin’s underlying premise

that nothing can (or perhaps should) be done to remedy the incidents

on the Fourth, which have been permitted for all too long.

Before July 4, 2003, our community needs to send a proactive

message by appropriate, well publicized ordinances, policies and

actions that Newport will no longer tolerate this type of conduct and

that visitors who engage in this type of conduct are not welcome in

Newport.

PAUL K. WATKINS

Newport Beach