Council will swear in Mayor Sullivan

Two special City Council meetings are scheduled for December.

One Dec. 5, the council will hold its annual swearing-in ceremony for the office of the mayor. After a year in service, Huntington Beach High School teacher Jill Hardy will pass the torch to retired orthodontist Dave Sullivan. Hardy was first elected to the council in 2002. Sullivan was reelected that year after two years away from the council; he had served on the council from 1992 to 2000.

During the same meeting, Councilman Gil Coerper will be sworn in as the city’s mayor pro-tem, or vice mayor. Coerper was first elected to the council in 2002.

On Dec. 12, the city will hold a special public hearing to consider annexing homes on the Bolsa Chica mesa. This will be the only item heard at this meeting, and dozens of environmental activists are expected to attend, most of them opposed to the plan. Representatives from developer Hearthside Homes are expected to be present for what will likely be a contentious meeting.

Both hearings begin at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 2000 Main St. For more information, call (714) 536-5553.

Surfing America moves away

Huntington Beach’s grasp on the surfing industry got a little looser this week following the announcement by Surfing America’s Mike Gerard that the small Olympic-level organization was moving its offices to San Juan Capistrano.

The news is largely inconsequential for Surf City, said Gerard, who said cuts have reduced Surfing America to a one-person operation that he’s now running from his home. Surfing America is the North American governing body for the International Surfing Assn., which oversees Olympic events like the October Junior World Championship surfing contest and the upcoming World Games, both in Huntington Beach.

The move came just weeks after the Assn. of Surfing Professionals announced it was opening its own office in Huntington Beach next to Surfline.com. Previously, Surfing America had handled several of the association’s North American functions, netting Surfing America some additional revenue. That agreement has now ended, and Surfing America’s Meg Bernardo has left to work for the Assn. of Surfing Professionals.

“It’s just an economic decision,” he said. “We were in a space we could no longer afford. We’re a nonprofit.”

Gerard said Huntington Beach was still home to the U.S. surfing team and its annual team tryouts.

“It’s still our home, and it’s still the best waves,” he said.

He said Surfing America will now focus on bringing top-level professional surfers to ISA events. While he was reluctant to name names, Gerard said he’d like to see a certain “Slater” on the squad.

“This is going to be the dream team,” he said. “This isn’t amateur any more. We want to get the best American surfers.”

Retired colonel receives honors from county

A retired Huntington Beach colonel has been honored by Los Angeles County for his contributions to the Southern California Military Academy, on Signal Hill in Long Beach.

Lt. Col. Irving Jackson Aden received the honors on Oct. 22 during a special ceremony at Los Coyotes Country Club in Buena Park. In attendance at the ceremony was Aden’s son, Jack Aden, who served alongside his father in the Vietnam War and was awarded the Bronze Star for valor and an Army Commendation medal. His twin brother, former 1st Lt. Jerry Aden, served as Deputy Post Engineer of Fort MacArthur, in San Pedro, at the same time.

Southern California Military Academy is a nonprofit Christian Academy. Aden was the first commandant in the 87-year history of the school to appoint a black student to serve as cadet colonel.

Besides serving the academy, Aden served his country in several major wars. He entered the Army with the rank of private and fought in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He received an officers’ commission and served in Korea for 13 months, Laos for 22 months and Vietnam for 12 months. He retired in 1972 with 30 years of active-duty service. He was also a professor of U.S. military history at the Claremont Colleges.