Scandals, fireworks and a Bolsa Chica end

Condo conversions raise bigger questions

1 After months of debate about how to deal with 120 illegally

converted condominiums in Huntington Beach, the City Council

announced in November it had reached a settlement agreement with five

insurance companies to end the controversy and begin clearing up the

titles.

While the compromise signaled a possible end to part of the

controversy, still lingering are charges against former mayor Pam

Julien Houchen that she took part in some of the illegal deals while

serving on the council.

Houchen and seven others now face federal felony charges that they

knowingly purchased apartment complexes in Huntington Beach and then

converted them into condominiums without the proper permits. A

federal grand indictment alleges they forged documents to push deals

through, created phony companies to make the transactions appear

legitimate and then paid off an insider at Stewart Title Company to

insure the transactions.

Though unrelated, the charges against Houchen raised memories of

former Mayor Dave Garofalo pleading guilty to one felony count and 15

misdemeanor conflict-of-interest charges in 2002. It also has led to

questions from residents about why trouble seems to breed in City

Hall.

The city discovered the problem when a condo owner complained

about building defects at her home. A records check revealed that her

condo, and dozens more like it throughout the city, were actually

apartments that had never gone through the city’s official conversion

process, which includes a series of fees, permits and public

improvements

To clear up the titles, the city offered to expedite the

conversion process for the affected homeowners but tagged on a

$17,900 “affordable housing” fee that city planners said would be

used to rebuild the city’s depleted rental stock.

The move angered many of the condo owners, who said they shouldn’t

be punished for someone else’s actions, but months later City Atty.

Jennifer McGrath announced the council had reached a settlement

agreement with the title insurance companies to cover the

affordable-housing fees at a reduced rate and pay for some of the

expenses associated with reconverting the units back into apartments.

So far, a few dozen condo owners have signed on to the deal, and

McGrath said everyone will eventually have to sign on to the

settlement agreement or pay the $17,900 fee to clear up their titles.

Many condo owners said they’re going to wait and see how the first

round of agreements go before they sign on.

Bolsa Chica battle nears possible end

2 A decades-old battle over the fate of the Bolsa Chica wetlands

is finally close to being resolved, but the wrangling isn’t over.

In June, landowner Hearthside Homes President and Chief Executive

Ray Pacini announced his intentions to accept $65 million in state

funds to sell the 103-acre lower portion of the mesa to the

California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The deal was a victory for the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, which

fought through countless City Council meetings, Coastal Commission

hearings and two lawsuits to block Hearthside from paving over the

wetlands for residential development. The acquisition would be paid

for by Proposition 50, the Clean Water and Coastal Protection bond

vigorously campaigned by both Hearthside and the Land Trust, which

generated $3.4 billion for California conservation projects.

The deal, however, had a hitch; Hearthside would only accept the

offer if the Coastal Commission agreed to allow the developer to

build a 379-home gated community on the upper portion of the

wetlands.

At past hearings, coastal commissioners indicated they would

accept limited development on the site, but in September, when a

staff member recommended that the commission reject the development

because it allegedly violated the Coastal Act, the hard-fought

compromise seemed in jeopardy.

At an October hearing, the commission rejected Hearthside’s luxury

home proposal, but instead of walking away from the entire deal,

Pacini said his engineers would rework their plans and still consider

approving the $65-million compromise. The developer’s board of

directors has until June to approve the sale.

In the meantime, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army

Corps of Engineers will continue with plans to restore a large

portion of the wetlands just south of the disputed lower mesa.

The Ocean View School District also approved a plan in September

to declare 15 acres of school property on the Bolsa Chica a surplus

so it could also eventually be sold into conservation.

Realignment of City Hall squashed

3 A plan to change the structure of city government in Huntington

Beach was resoundingly quashed at the polls in March, retaining the

status quo.

The Fair District Initiative, or Measure E, would have split the

city into five City Council districts, with candidates being elected

by voters in their area of the city. It also would have shrunk the

council from seven members to five.

The initiative, which would have radically changed the way Surf

City operates, was put forth by former Assemblyman Scott Baugh, who

now heads the Orange County Republican Party.

Many residents, including several former mayors, opposed the plan

and formed the Huntington Beach Concerned Voter’s Coalition.

Former mayors Ralph Bauer and Shirley Dettloff headed the campaign

that was a blitzkrieg of e-mails, phone calls and fliers spread

throughout the community. Critics contended that residents would have

less representation under the plan, because they would have only one

council member to bring concerns to. They argued that five

representatives were not enough for a city of 200,000 and feared the

plan would pit council members against one another as they fought for

special projects in their area.

They also worried that the Republican-backed measure would divide

the city along partisan lines.

Proponents of the measure claimed neighborhoods would be better

off with one council member devoted to a single district. Baugh said

the districting plan would allow representatives to develop an

intimate knowledge of their section of the city and be more

accessible to their constituents.

Backers of the initiative raised more than $200,000 to their

opponents’ $35,000. But what critics lacked in dollars, they made up

for in passion, fervor and manpower.

Voters overwhelmingly rejected the plan, with 63.3% of Surf City

voters coming out against it.

Sporting a complex $1-million problem

4 It was supposed to be a major recreational arena for Huntington

Beach children, but it turned out to be a major headache.

In the end, city leaders would find themselves stuck with an

incomplete project, abandoned by a contractor with

less-than-admirable credentials and, according to court documents,

about $37 of the city’s nearly $1 million left in the bank.

City administrator Penny Culbreth Graft said Joe O’Connor and his

Community Parks Foundation completed most of the work they were hired

to do, but by eventually abandoning the project part he left the city

with unusable roller hockey courts and batting cages and a lot of

questions about his credibility.

Community Services Director Jim Engle is working on finding a new

subcontractor to finish the work, and City Atty. Jennifer McGrath has

filed a lawsuit against O’Connor.

And that’s just the beginning of O’Connor’s problems. A soccer

club owner in Kalamazoo, Mich., has successfully sued O’Connor for

taking off with $850,000 of his money to build an inflatable arena.

The soccer club owner even won a felony warrant for O’Connor, who in

August was arrested by Salem, Ore., police several months after he

had first abandoned the Huntington Beach project.

City officials who hired O’Connor failed to uncover his connection

with the Kalamazoo fiasco, or a string of similar botched recreation

projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. They also failed to

discover that O’Connor did not qualify for nonprofit status, despite

claiming the contrary to participate in a complex financing deal.

Culbreth-Graft ultimately found no wrongdoing on the part of city

staff and pushed plans forward to complete the sports complex so it

could begin to generate revenue and pay off its financing

arrangements. She said she hopes to have the batting cages and roller

hockey rinks operating soon.

Volunteers complain about lack of shelter

5 Former volunteers of a Huntington Beach animal shelter stormed

Costa Mesa City Council meetings in September with allegations that

the shelter was not treating its animals well.

They asked that Costa Mesa look into the Orange County Humane

Society and break its contract with the shelter. The city asked its

animal control officers to conduct an investigation, which revealed

that the shelter had some problems but was up to code.

Veterinarian and shelter owner Samir Botros denied all of the

former volunteers’ allegations and said they were launching a

personal attack against him because he fired them after they

constantly interfered with his way of running things at the shelter.

The former volunteers alleged that too many animals were stuffed

into a cage, that their cages were not cleaned often enough, and they

didn’t receive proper veterinary care.

Shelly Hunter, who led the protests outside the shelter, filed a

complaint against the hospital with the state Veterinary Medical

Board alleging that Botros used unlicensed technicians to euthanize

and perform surgical procedures on the animals.

Costa Mesa Police finally determined that the shelter met codes.

A sandy spot to watch fireworks

6 The Fourth of July fireworks show returned to the beach this

year after nearly three decades at Huntington Beach High School.

In planning the city’s centennial Independence Day celebration,

the Fourth of July Committee asked that a huge pyrotechnic display be

shot off a barge for the special occasion. The plan met with stiff

opposition and divided the City Council.

The committee’s first bid was rejected in January, just as a

similar request was denied the year before. But then-City

Councilwoman Pam Julien Houchen brought the item back to the table.

The council approved a revised plan in February on a 5-2 vote,

giving the committee the green light to raise money for the

beachfront show.

City Council members Connie Boardman and Dave Sullivan stayed firm

in their vote to deny the show, fearing a repeat of civil unrest that

plagued the city in the early 1990s.

With the show approved, the committee and community set to work

trying to raise the $84,000 needed to put it on.

The money was raised, and the show went off as planned.

This brought the fireworks show back to the beach after about 30

years. The fireworks show was moved from the beach venue to

Huntington Beach High School in the 1970s, when increasingly thick

fog blocked the show from view.

Many residents complained, however, that this year’s fireworks

were too far away and that the $50 VIP seating on the pier did not

work out well.

Unfazed and certain that it can be done better in 2005, the

committee again approached the City Council. In November they asked

for the 2005 fireworks to be shot off the pier.

Police Chief Ken Small and Fire Chief Duane Olsen objected, saying

they were worried about their ability to provide public safety at

such an event, judging by the estimated 160,000 people who attended

the 2004 show.

In a surprise decision, however, the council approved the 2005

show at the beach, saying it clearly was what the community wanted.

And an old tradition was reborn in Huntington Beach.

Rash of killings in safe American city

7 Huntington Beach’s promoters take pride in the city’s reputation

as one of the United States’ safest cities, a reputation confirmed

this year when FBI statistics showed Surf City was among the nation’s

10 safest cities. But no city is completely safe, as was made

tragically clear more than once over the past year.

On the evening of Jan. 29, 19-year-old cashier Shawna Wolfgram was

busy at work at the 99 Cents Only Store on Beach Boulevard. Wolfgram

lived nearby but would never return home. An armed robber held up the

store, and police said Wolfgram tried to resist him. He shot and

killed her, , then ran away with some cash. About two months later,

Huntington Beach Police arrested John Steadman Nilsen, a parolee who

had served time for kidnapping, attempted robbery and other crimes.

In August, gunfire shattered the city’s peace again when

Huntington Beach resident German Martinez Garcia, 29, was shot

outside an apartment complex on Saru Circle. Police arrested

Huntington Beach resident Luis Teodoro Ponce the same night on

suspicion of murder. According to the district attorney’s office,

Ponce shot Garcia after an argument over Garcia’s driving.

Police still have arrested no one in the death of Marlene Hall, a

64-year-old homeless woman whose death was ruled a homicide after her

body was found at Lagenbeck Park on June 30. Police discovered Hall’s

body after receiving a phone call that a woman was down in the park.

Hall is believed to have lived in Huntington Beach and to have family

in the area.

On Dec. 6, a passerby discovered the badly beaten body of William

Pascoe III, 47, under an overpass near the Santa Ana River at

Hamilton Avenue and Brookhurst Street. Several days later, the man

police had been searching for in connection with the killing, Gilbert

Garcia Jr., 41, of San Bernardino, turned himself in.

Police say Garcia is a transient, known to frequent areas around

the Santa Ana River. While police are unsure whether Pascoe was also

a transient living in the area, they do believe the two men knew each

other. Garcia is being held on one count of murder at Mens Central

Jail in Santa Ana and is set to appear in court on Jan. 7.

Most recently, a man was shot to death on Dec. 17 near the

intersection of Huntington Street and Utica Avenue. Officers received

a call alerting them to a possible shooting, and when they arrived at

the scene, they found Jason Williams, 18, of Long Beach, shot in the

chest. Williams was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he died.

Police are interviewing people in the area who may have seen what

happened. Witnesses told police they saw a car speeding away from the

scene, but there is no description of the vehicle.

Two Huntington Beach residents were among eight people arrested in

connection with the killing of Cory Lamons, a 26-year-old Laguna

Niguel man whose body was found in the back of a truck on April 6

during a traffic stop in Riverside.

Billy Johnson, 40, and Suzanne Miller, 24, both of Huntington

Beach, were in the car where the body was found, police said. Johnson

was identified by police as a member of a white supremacist gang

called Public Enemy No. 1. All eight of those arrested were also

charged with being members of a criminal street gang. The arraignment

for Johnson and Miller is scheduled for Feb. 1 in Santa Ana Superior

Court.

Nearing being put on the public airwaves

8 The continuing saga of Orange County’s only PBS channel finally

looked sewed up but with just enough of an open ending for a sequel.

The Coast Community College District, which owned the station,

decided in 2003 to sell it to prop up its sagging budget. All but one

bid, from the station’s own fundraising arm, came from religious

broadcasters.

The district declared the $32-million bid from the KOCE-TV

Foundation the highest and chose to sell to it in October of 2003.

The foundation, backed by local business and education leaders, was

the only bidder promising to preserve the PBS format.

But Dallas-based Daystar Television Network, the nation’s

second-largest religious broadcaster, made a last-ditch effort to buy

the station, boosting its $25 million cash offer to $40 million --

after the deadline for bids had passed.

Earlier this year, it sued the district and its trustees, claiming

they had not sold to the highest responsible bidder, a violation of

state law.

Though the foundation’s bid was revised downward to adjust for

programming and other compensation that was part of the deal and

included a substantial portion financed over a long-term note, a

judge declared that the district was not obligated to sell to

Daystar.

Daystar then filed an appeal and tried to block the FCC from

transferring the broadcast license to the foundation.

Meanwhile, the district granted the foundation three extensions on

its deadline to make the $8-million down payment. The group finally

came up with the cash in October.

The FCC approved the transfer at about the same time, and the

district gave its final OK at a meeting in November.

KOCE-TV is planning new programming to start in 2005 and in

November launched an endowment to fund arts and science education in

local schools.

But don’t roll the credits just yet. Attorneys for Daystar are

still promising to pursue the appeal, though officials with the

foundation and the district aren’t too worried about it succeeding.

Stay tuned.

Teaching jobs saved from budget ax

9 In March, the jobs of 26 local teachers were on the chopping

block, but private fundraising kept educators in their classrooms.

The Huntington Beach School District was faced with the prospect

of cutting close to $1 million from its budget, with district

officials blaming the state’s fiscal crisis for their funding

shortfall. A large chunk of the budget cuts, about $205,000, would

have come from cutting class-size reduction, a popular program that,

within that district, maxed out class sizes in the first and second

grades at 20 students. At school board meetings where the district’s

superintendent, Gary Rutherford, presented proposed budget cuts to

the board, several parents protested the potential loss of class-size

reduction and plans to reduce the district’s health aides and library

staff.

Frightened by the prospective loss of small class sizes, a group

of Huntington Beach parents formed to raise money as an alternative

to cuts. Headed by Cathy Livingston, the parents group, dubbed

Community for Class Size Reduction, officially started its work in

late 2002, well before the possible layoffs had been announced. The

parents group asked each parent in the district to contribute $200

per child for its cause. The group also secured business sponsorships

and held several fundraisers, which climaxed in a carnival at Kettler

Elementary School. At the event, the parents group topped the

$205,000 threshold needed to maintain class-size reduction in the

first and third grades.

Though school officials repeatedly said additional budget cuts

would be necessary, the school board passed a resolution against

cutting class-size reduction when it makes a budget for the 2005-06

school year. Parents in Community for Class Size Reduction remain

active.

A change at the City Hall helm

10 There’s a new city administrator in town.

After wowing City Council members in a closed-session interview,

46-year-old Penny Culbreth-Graft took the helm as city administrator.

She is be the first woman in city history to serve in the executive

role.

Culbreth-Graft came on board after longtime city administrator Ray

Silver retired. She has a doctorate in public administration from the

University of La Verne, a master’s degree in public administration

from Cal State Colleges Consortium and a bachelor’s degree in

political science and social science from Cal Poly Pomona.

She worked for a little more than a year as assistant city

administrator in Riverside and spent three years as tribal government

manager for the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians in San Diego County.

She had been recruited to the rural reservation to establish a

democratic government, at the tribe’s request.

Her first six months in office have been relatively smooth, and

she inherited a tight budget mostly vetted for cuts and layoffs

before she came aboard. She launched an investigation into the

controversial sports complex problem and found no wrongdoing on the

part of city staff. She has vowed to get the project completed soon.

She has also remained mum on former Huntington Beach Mayor

Houchen’s involvement in the condo-conversion scandal and helped

implement and negotiate a settlement with title insurance companies.