White shark released up north

A young female white shark caught off the coast of Huntington Beach

and housed at the Monterey Bay Aquarium has been released after

nearly six months in captivity.

The shark was equipped with an electronic data tag to be tracked

for the next month. To avoid further stress, the shark was released

near the aquarium.

The animal was the first of its kind to survive more than 16 days

out of the wild and drew more than 1 million visitors to the Central

Coast aquarium.

Researchers said they learned a lot from the animal’s brief stay,

but decided to release the animal before it got too big to safely

return to the wild.

“We’ve always planned a release when the time was right, and now

was the time,” said Randy Hamilton, vice president of husbandry for

the aquarium. “Her health is excellent, and we’ve learned a great

deal during her time with us, and we have every expectation that

she’ll do well back in the wild.”

Scientists were also concerned about an increasing pattern of

aggressive behavior by the animal, which in recent weeks had killed

two soupfin sharks that had shared the aquarium with the animal.

At first, scientists believed the soupfin sharks had simply not

respected the boundaries of the white shark, but other signs of

aggression began to surface.

“We’ve been watching to see if she was actively hunting other

animals in the exhibit,” Hamilton said. “When we saw clear signs on

Monday, we decided an immediate release would be best.”

The shark was inadvertently caught by a commercial halibut

fisherman in waters off Huntington Beach on Aug. 20.

She was held in a 4-million-gallon ocean pen off Malibu for three

weeks and then transported several hundred miles north in a special

3,000-gallon life-support transport vehicle.

During her six months in captivity, the shark grew nearly 1 1/2

feet to 6-feet-4 1/2 inches and gained more than 100 pounds.

“When she arrived, no one even knew if she’d survive or feed or

thrive at the exhibit. After six months, she’s done so well that

we’re releasing her back into the wild because she’s grown so much,”

associate curator Manny Ezcurra said. “We’ve learned that she has

food preferences, and that vitamins we’ve given to other sharks are

also effective with a white shark. We’ve learned to modify our

feeding and handling techniques to keep her healthy in the exhibit,

and we’ve observed behavioral changes as she grew.”

The shark did so well, researchers said, that the aquarium plans

to house another one in the near future, Ezcurra said.

“From all we’ve learned, a second shark should do even better than

the first,” he added. “We’ll be able to draw on our experiences of

collecting, caring for and releasing a white shark.”

Signs in the works for Pacific Coast Highway

City officials are working on a proposal to place signs welcoming

visitors to Huntington Beach along Pacific Coast Highway

Officials from Huntington Beach’s Public Works Department are

asking Caltrans engineers for preliminary approval of a plan to place

signage on the pedestrian bridge at Pacific Coast Highway connecting

the city beach with the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and

Spa.

The proposal is in the earliest stages, said acting Public Works

Director Paul Emery.

“We have only approached Caltrans with a request to explore this

opportunity,” he said.

No specific details about the nature, wording or aesthetics of the

signs are available, he said.

Caltrans is agreeable to the proposal, said Deputy District

Director Jim Beil.

One sign would welcome visitors to Huntington Beach as they

traveled northbound along Pacific Coast Highway toward Main Street,

while another would offer a goodbye to visitors as they exited town

traveling south on the highway.

No timeline for the project is currently available, said Emery.

Assistance League

to hold fundraiser

Assistance League of Huntington Beach is holding its annual

Treasures by the Sea luncheon on April 23 at the Hyatt Regency

Huntington Beach Resort and Spa.

Officials with the group are selling tickets in advance for the

event, which begins at 10 a.m. with a silent auction and ends with a

fashion show.

Tickets are $70 per person and can be purchased at the group’s

Huntington Beach office at 8071 Slater Ave., Suite 145 or by calling

(714) 596-9935.

The Assistance League is an Orange County chapter of the a

national nonprofit that provides support services for people in need.

Bolsa Center sold to West Covina company

Real estate investment brokerage firm Sperry Van Ness has

completed the sale of Bolsa Center, a two-building,

19,090-square-foot medical and retail center to West Covina based

Ai-Hoa Investment for $2.8 million.

The center is located at 6552 Bolsa Ave. near the 405 Freeway in

Huntington Beach.

Fouy Ly of Sperry Van Ness in Irvine represented the buyer.

Edward Murphy of Murphy Investments represented the seller, a

Washington-based private investor.

Originally built in 1966, the center is situated on 1.5 acres and

is 100% leased to retail and medical tenants. The property is located

across the street from the Westminster Mall.

Tickets for Taste of Huntington Beach

Tickets are now available for the fifth annual Taste of Huntington

Beach.

Each year the event serves tastes from more than 50 city eateries

and 30 nationally recognized wineries and breweries. The event will

be from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 24 at the Hyatt Huntington Beach

Regency Resort and Spa.

Money generated from the event will go for the Children’s Wing of

the Huntington Beach Central Library. The event will include an

extensive silent auction, raffle prizes and live musical

entertainment.

Tickets are $50 for the all inclusive one-price, day and can be

found at the Huntington Beach Central Library, (714) 842-4481, and

the Visitors & Conference Bureau, 301 Main St., Suite 208, (714)

969-3492.

Staples offers free tax-return copies

Local Staples Copy and Print Centers are providing free

photocopies of 2004 tax returns for small business and home business

customers.

Staples officials suggest that even people who file taxes

electronically should keep a hard copy of their tax returns. They are

offering the free copies through April 15.

Locations doing free tax return copies include ones at 7131

Yorktown Ave. in Huntington Beach, 4343 MacArthur Blvd. in Newport

Beach, and 241 East 17th St. in Costa Mesa.