Complex contractor testifies at deposition

The Salem, Ore., contractor hired to build the second phase of the

sports complex attended an Oregon deposition Tuesday, where he was

scheduled to testify about what happened to the $950,000 he was paid

by Huntington Beach. Details of that deposition were not available by

press time.

Surf City attorneys filed a lawsuit against contractor Joe

O’Connor in June for abandoning the project after receiving a

substantial portion of the money. O’Connor was hired to build soccer

pavilions, roller hockey arenas, batting cages and concession stands.

O’Connor also abandoned a similar soccer project in Kalamazoo,

Michigan after he was paid nearly $250,000 by soccer club owner Chris

Keenan. Keenan went after O’Connor with a civil lawsuit and won when

O’Connor failed to appear in court.

Keenan re-filed the judgment in Oregon and secured a felony arrest

warrant for O’Connor, who was eventually arrested in August.

On Tuesday, O’Connor attended a court-ordered deposition at the

offices of Keenan’s attorney, where he was expected to testify on how

he spent Keenan’s money.

“During that time, we also plan to ask him about how he spent

Huntington Beach’s money,” said Keenan, because it helps to paint an

understanding of O’Connor’s current financial status.

City to examine Fourth of July policies

The midnight parties that take place a few days before Fourth of

July each year could soon come to an end.

On Monday, the City Council will examine the city’s staking-out

policy at the request of police, who say the practice is becoming

unmanageable.

“It’s very difficult for us to be out there until midnight,”

Huntington Beach Police Chief Ken Small said. “Last year we had to

put four officers on patrol.”

For two years, dozens of residents living along the north end of

Main Street have waited until the first stroke of midnight on July 2

to stake out a place on the grass for viewing of the Fourth of July

parade. Using duct tape, chalk and even police ribbon, the residents

mark off their viewing spots for each year’s parade route. By early

morning, every inch of grass and cement along the parade route is

spoken for.

Before the midnight deadline was set, there was no law in place,

and residents would begin staking out spots as early as they could.

Small said the situation was getting out of control.

“They would stake out their place in May if they thought they

could get away with it,” he said.

Because staking out now does not begin until midnight, residents

often eagerly await their start times by throwing small parties in

their front yards, or waiting in lawn chairs along the sidewalk. With

so many people waiting outside, the nighttime takes on a noticeable

party-like atmosphere.

City events coordinator Naida Osline said the city is considering

changing the staking out policy.

“We’re going to look at moving it to the daytime instead of the

nighttime,” she said. “There’s been some concern by the police.”

Officially, police are not allowed to get involved in neighborhood

stakeout disputes and will not enforce codes if someone were to

occupy a spot that had been staked out by someone else.

The council will review the practice at Monday’s Fourth of July

study session at 5 p.m. Other items on the agenda include a

discussion about the quality of this year’s fireworks displays and

plans for next year’s fireworks. The council will also look at

restructuring the Fourth of July Executive Board, which is losing

several members this year.

Ballot order announced

Jim Moreno will be first, Keith Bohr will be last and Debbie Cook

is stuck somewhere in the middle.

The city clerk’s office has released the ballot order for Surf

City’s 16 candidates vying for one of three available spots on the

City Council. When voters go to the polls this November, the names

will appear in this order:

Jim Moreno, Robert Mellema, Rex Ricks, Tim Reilly, Joey Racano,

Steve Ray, Don Hansen, Blair Farley, Robert Kliewer, John Earl, Hyman

Crippen, Debbie Cook, Joe Carchio, Norm “Firecracker” Westwell, Peter

Albini and finally Keith Bohr.

Views differ on the ideal place to be located on the ballot.

Deputy City Clerk Kelly Mandic said conventional wisdom was that “the

first and last slots on the ballot were the best place to be.”

Bohr said he had no problem being at the bottom, but said “I think

the best spots might be theone, two and three [positions].”

The state ballot spots are decided in a lottery by California

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. Each election, letters are drawn at

random and the order they are chosen make up the new ballot alphabet.

Names are then arranged in the new alphabetical order.

Coastal cleanup moves on shore

You don’t have to go to the beach to enjoy this year’s Coastal

Cleanup Day.

For 20 years, the California Coastal Commission has been

sponsoring the statewide volunteer cleanup effort to pick-up trash

along California’s beaches, but one group is now trying to do its

part to pick up trash before it makes its way to the ocean.

The Earth Resource Foundation will be sponsoring a cleanup of

Talbert Marsh and the Santa Ana River jetties on Sept. 18 from 8 a.m.

to noon. Executive Director Stephanie Barger said she hopes the

volunteers will be able to “pick up trash before it hits the ocean.”

Besides the cleanup, the event serves as an opportunity to educate

the public about their role as conservationists.

“We want to teach environmental responsibility where you live and

play,” she said. “We’re not going to solve all the problems by having

beach cleanups, we need to trace back to the community what

activities we as humans are doing and give people alternatives to

enhance their lifestyles.”

Even the structure of the cleanup itself has been changed to be

more environmentally conscious. Volunteers are encouraged to bring

their own reusable water bottles and gloves to reduce waste, and will

be asked to reuse their trash bags.

Barger said she hopes the event makes people think about their own

roles in what she said is becoming an increasingly “disposable

society.”

Volunteers are allowed to join in during any part of the morning

and can stay for as long or as little as they want. Volunteers are

asked to enter the Talbert Marsh cleanup site at the bike trail gate

on Brookhurst Street near Pacific Coast Highway. Signs will also be

posted.

For more information, visit https://www.earthresource.org.