A no-banner week

Wow, what an epic week it wasn’t -- it definitely rained on our parade in Newport Beach.

To start with, the town hall meeting, “Lessons Learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” was a bust as far as attendance was concerned. It was limited to the first 300 people and we had only 23 residents, 16 employees from the Fire Department, the city’s public information officer and the cameraman.

Where were you? Don’t tell me you missed all the advertisements and banners? I was told there were four ads placed in the paper, however, not one banner -- not even at the Oasis Senior Center.

You missed an extraordinary evening, one that will never be replicated by watching the streaming video or local TV. We received information from the Fire Department regarding the CERT program, tsunami safety rules and a yellow “Three-Day Survival Pack” flier. We were also given an orange brochure from FEMA and the American Red Cross titled “Your Family Disaster Supplies Kit.” A definite must for every household in our city, since it could actually help get us ready to face a disaster.

The city of Huntington Beach is in the process of hand-delivering 77,000 emergency-preparedness kits to every household in that city. Perhaps we could mail 40,000 FEMA/Red Cross brochures and yellow Fire Department fliers to our residents in Newport Beach.

The firefighters did an excellent job! They had photo journals that depicted their daily activities and revealed the side of a disaster that we never see portrayed on television. We were all proud of the volunteers.

A gigantic “thank you” to Fire Chief Tim Riley, Capt. Chip Duncan, Capt. Robert Masonis, Capt. Bob Pingle, Deputy Chief Ron Sutherland, Capt. Ron Guiterrez and Engineer Jim Jeziorski for their time, dedication and contribution.

The resounding messages they all stressed were, “It is not a matter of if a disaster will hit us but when,” and “Don’t think that you are going to be taken care of.”

Instead, we were told that those who live on the higher land will be taking care of our neighbors that live on the peninsula, and it’s all about volunteers.

Apparently, our Rose Parade float could be sinking, and the eBay auction didn’t pan out either. Imagine our 100-year birthday and we are all too busy to light the candles? It takes a lot of people to light 100 candles and keep them burning, so let’s all start by signing up to decorate the float -- it is the opportunity of a lifetime.

Go to www.newportbeach100.com and get involved.

For those of you who need to buy a gift for the person who has everything or need a year-end tax deduction, make a large donation and reserve your seat on the float now. Donate $500 by the Nov. 28, and you will be entered to win an opportunity to ride in the parade and wave at millions. Rumor has it that you’ll soon be seeing banners around town to get our attention -- banners work wonders.

Last, but not least, Tuesday’s City Council meeting will be a centennial moment in the making. This is when our council will vote and determine whether the $578,000 schematic design project by Griffin Structures will become a sole-sourced $50-million dollar City Hall project by Griffin Structures.

I know its two days before Thanksgiving and you have a million things to do, but maybe, just maybe, you can find the time to show up at the City Council meeting and participate in your government. Remember, we can never have too much democracy.

* DOLORES OTTING is a regular contributor to Sunday Forum and is a community activist.

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