Channel 3 revival considered

Huntington Beach’s cable television station might be revived this

year into a regional programming package serving four north Orange

County communities.

Representatives from the Public Cable Television Authority will

present an initial proposal during the City Council’s 4 p.m. study

session Monday, examining the practicability of developing TV shows

for the cities the cable authority serves: Huntington Beach, Stanton,

Westminster and Fountain Valley.

While still in it’s earliest conceptual phase, the new programming

block would air on the city’s public access channel, usually used to

televise public meetings such as those of the City Council or

Planning Commission.

That could mean a resurgence for HBTV-3, the City of Huntington

Beach’s public information channel that was axed during a round of

budget cuts in 2003.

Cable Authority representative Mary Morales said the details of

the new station are part of ongoing negotiations with Time Warner

centered around the renewal of the media giant’s cable television

franchise agreement with those four cities.

“During those negotiations, we’re going to be looking at whether

Time Warner is responding to the community needs,” she said.

The new regional programming would likely draw on resources from

all four cities, as well as Time Warner’s own production

capabilities. The station would also work with community colleges and

broadcasting programs to add content.

A recent survey taken by the cable authority shows a strong demand

for increased regional programming, Morales said, adding that a local

channel would encourage customers to stick with cable instead of

switching over to satellite TV.

“This would be something unique to Time Warner that Time Warner

could build on,” she said.

Hotels market

Orange Coast

Ten local resorts have formed a new marketing coalition to promote

Orange County’s coastline.

Named The OCeanfront, the group plans to market its luxury hotels

to high-income families throughout the Western United States. The

goal is to increase the number of affluent overnight visitors to the

county, often regarded as a sleepy suburb of Los Angeles.

“We want to create our own identity,” Hyatt Regency Huntington

Beach Resort and Spa General Manager Cormac O’Modrain said.

O’Modrain’s hotel, along with the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort are

the only two Huntington Beach resorts in the coalition, which also

includes hotels from Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Dana Point.

Three golf courses and four shopping centers, including Fashion

Island and South Coast Plaza, have also joined.

This is the first time all four cities have banded together to

market the entire Orange County coastline to visitors.

“We really believe that coastal Orange County has a far wider

reach than any one city,” O’Modrain said. “This approach takes the

value of each city and meshes them together for a wonderfully global

perspective.”

Tourism bureaus in each city will also get involved in the effort,

but the focus of the marketing campaign is to promote coastal Orange

County in its entirety as a diverse vacation destination. Concierge

at the resort hotels might encourage an art enthusiast staying in

Huntington Beach to drive south for the Pageant of Masters, or a

body-boarder in Dana Point to catch some waves at The Wedge in

Newport Beach.

Last week, the OCeanfront sent out color, glossy, 30-page

brochures to 75,000 targeted homes

“It’s aimed at a more sophisticated traveler looking for a more

sophisticated travel property,” Huntington Beach Conference and

Visitors Bureau President and CEO Doug Traub said.

For more information, go to www.theOCeanfrontCA.com.

Desalination plant is

back for second wash

A controversial plan to bring desalination to Huntington Beach is

getting ready for round two.

Stamford, Conn., industrial developer Poseidon Resources is making

its second push at developing a seawater desalination plant to

produce 50 million gallons of drinking water a day. The plant would

be located behind the AES power plant and use the company’s intake

and outfall pipelines to capture seawater, and then deliver the brine

back to the ocean.

Poseidon applied for a permit with the city in Dec. 2003 to build

the plant, but was rebuffed after the council ruled the Environmental

Impact Report submitted by Poseidon was incomplete. Executives with

Poseidon have recently resubmitted the report, which can be viewed at

https://www.surfcity-hb.org/City Departments/planning/major.

The desalination plant is gearing up to be the big planning battle

of 2005. Councilwoman Debbie Cook has taken a stand against the

$250-million facility, arguing it ushers in the privatization of

water, while environmentalists argue that the vacuum created by the

intake pipe kills marine life.

Poseidon executive Billy Owens said the plant will create a much

needed water resource and add millions of dollars to the local

economy. Owens contends the desalination plant is environmentally

safe.

A public hearing on the plant will likely be scheduled for the

fall.