Surf City’s slate wows tourists

Surf City’s tourism industry has earned a new accolade.

New York Post Travel Editor David Landsel has dubbed Huntington

Beach one of the top five destinations for teenagers and their

parents in the paper’s June 22 edition.

“You’ve got eight miles of sand -- a lot of open space for what

many consider an L.A. suburb,” Landsel wrote. There’s also “an

historic recreational pier and thanks to a recent makeover, downtown

meets-Pacific district of streetscapes and cool shop fronts that look

like a million dollars.”

In the Manhattan tabloid article, Landsel said the blend of

upscale adult amenities and extreme sport activities makes for an

eventful vacation for parents and juniors. The article also describes

the Pier Plaza and Main Street as a safe place for teenagers to hang

out.

City awarded grant to restore Talbert Lake

The Public Works Department has been awarded $2.3 million to

restore the Talbert Lake.

The project, paid for with state grant money, will divert between

3 million to 5 million gallons per day of urban runoff from the East

Garden Grove Wintersburg Channel through purifying devices into a

15-acre treatment area in Central Park. After restoration work is

complete, the purified water will be used to refill Talbert Lake.

“There’s a constant call from residents to bring back the lake,”

said Dave Webb of the City’s Public Works Department. “After we

excavate the silt and the dirt, we can begin the process of restoring

the lake’s original [appearance.]”

Project completion is still five or six years away, Webb said, and

requires an additional $465,200 in matching funds that are being

pursued from the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project.

Engineers plan to remove water pollutants through a Natural

Treatment System that utilizes settling, ultraviolet radiation and

plant uptake.

Winners selected for first-ever Legacy Awards

The Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce has announced the winners

of the first-ever Legacy Awards, given to family members who work

together to make their communities a better place.

This year’s awards go to: Pazanti Home Mortgage Company Corp.,

recipients of the small company award; the Sher family, for the

medium-sized company award; the Langston family, in the large company

category; and the Refice family, in special tribute to the memory of

patriarch William Refice.

Pazanti is run by Harold Pazanti and his daughter Rochelle

Pazanti-Ruth. In the Sher family, creators of the 5 Points Plaza

Shopping Center, Merritt and Ron Sher along with their mom, Sylvia,

will be recognized. In the Langston family, which owns Aire Rite Air

Conditioning and Refrigeration, Punky and Linda Langston along with

sons Don and David Langston will be spotlighted.

The Refice family owns Lucci’s Gourmet Foods.

The awards will be given out at the chamber’s 100th anniversary

Centennial Jubilee Friday at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach

Resort & Spa. Tickets are $75 per person. For more information or to

order tickets, call (714) 536-8888.

Triad Financial celebrates its 15th anniversary A Huntington Beach-based automobile-financing firm has turned 15.

Founded by Jim Landy and Helen Kraus, the company that began with

less than a dozen employees in 1989 has grown to a 12,000-employee

operation managing nearly $4 billon in receivables while working with

more than 7,500 automobile dealers across 32 states.

For more information on Triad, visit https://www.triadfinancial.com

or call (800) 898-6076.

New engineer hired

for Public Works

The Public Works Engineering Division has hired Andrew Ferrigno as

the department’s new associate civil engineer. Ferrigno will be

working on capital projects in the Water Design section and has been

registered as a civil engineer for 12 years, specializing in pipeline

engineering.

Ferrigno has worked for the Pipe Research Assn. as a technical

consultant to utilities and for a large diameter pipe company.

Ferrigno is originally from Boulder, Colo., and moved to California

in February 2000.