A surprising interest in the city

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

I now know why so many people are active in this city -- it sucks

you in.

Never in a million years would I have believed you, if you had

told me even a couple years ago that I would be interested in the

inner workings of a community.

What brings this to mind is the Huntington Beach Chamber of

Commerce’s 16th annual Economic Conference, which was held Friday. It

was well done and ... interesting.

The first speaker after welcomes was Assemblyman Tom Harman, who

stood in for Sen. Joe Dunn. Although terribly depressing, Harman was

honest and interesting as he told us what a sad economic state

California is in.

It was bad news, and then more bad news.

A projection of economic trends in Orange County by Wells Fargo

Bank Associate Matt Healy was much more optimistic as was City

Administrator Ray Silver’s state of economic development update for

the city. It did leave one wondering two things: Are we better off in

Orange County due to high property taxes? And are we kidding

ourselves, because if California is in such dire straights, how can

we not be?

The discussion quickly turned to public transportation, a hot

topic these days that we will all be hearing more about. Many see

metro links and high speed rails as the savior of Orange County and

California. Others don’t want the rails in their “back yard.”

I would lean toward those who see public mass transportation as

important for the future. It is, however, something that needs to be

done carefully and in moderation. This topic is one that I think

needs to be explored.

* * *

I don’t think it’s possible to live in Huntington Beach and not

know a Boeing employee. I know the number of engineers I know has

more than quadrupled since moving here. So it is with interest that

many of us watch the Delta IV rocket attempts.

I went to Boeing on Tuesday to watch the launch that had been

delayed from Saturday. Hundreds of people -- well, engineers, really

-- and their families gathered on the lawn in front of a huge screen.

While Tuesday’s launch was delayed due to a software glitch, the

rocket went up Wednesday without a hitch. Congratulations to all

those at Boeing Huntington Beach who had a part in that success.

* DANETTE GOULET is the city editor. She can be reached at (714)

965-7170 or by e-mail at danette.goulet@latimes.com.