CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP:Murine typhus case diagnosed

A Huntington Beach resident and another from Los Alamitos have been diagnosed with murine typhus, health officials said. Both were hospitalized and are now recovering at home. Typhus, a rare disease, is coming back to Orange County after 14 years, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Since June 2006, multiple cases have been reported from Long Beach and a few from Los Angeles county, but this is the first appearance in Orange County since 1993.

Murine typhus is transmitted through infected flea bites from opossums, rodents or cats. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, muscle ache and rash. The disease, which is not infectious and is not transmitted from person to person, can be found with a blood test and can be cured with antibiotics.

Residents can help prevent the disease from spreading by taking a few precautions around their homes and yards:

Silva, Harman support governor’s budget

Huntington Beach state Assemblyman Jim Silva has thrown his support behind Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed state budget for 2007-08.

“The state must reverse its trend of spending more money than it takes in each year,” Silva said in a news release. “The citizens of California deserve a government that is responsible with their hard-earned tax dollars.”

Schwarzenegger had made tough choices to reduce the state’s operating budget to zero and reining in the state’s $101 billion budget, he said. Silva said he was confident that Republicans — including himself — could find common ground with Democrats to work toward balancing the state’s budget.

A former Orange County Supervisor from the 2nd District, Silva is credited with helping the county emerge from its 1995 bankruptcy without raising taxes.

He said he’s also concerned about Democrats’ proposals for expansive state programs. The assemblyman from the 67th District is also a retired veteran economics teacher in the Garden Grove Unified School district.

“Clearly, the state cannot continue to take on debt without taking a hard look at how this will affect California’s economy and job-growth rate.”

California needs adequate water storage, more prisons and infrastructure improvements but “the state must live within its means,” he said.

Huntington Beach state Sen. Tom Harman was also cautiously optimistic about Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal. The budget seemed to be heading in the right direction, Harman said in a news release, by bringing revenues and expenditures in line.

“I am concerned however, that the Governor predicated this budget proposal on potential one-time revenues with the assumption that we will see an increase in state revenues,” he said.

California’s spending was based on taxing a few wealthy individuals’ financial windfalls, Harman said. Pretty soon, “the state will hit a revenue wall,” he said. “Spending cuts are the only answer.”

Harman represents the cities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Stanton, Sunset Beach and Westminster. Silva represents Anaheim, Cypress, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Stanton, Sunset Beach and Westminster.

Reality travel show to hold local auditions

A reality travel show will soon be fishing for contestants at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort hotel in Huntington Beach on Jan. 27 and 28. “Journey Of A Lifetime,” a first-time travel reality show organized by digital media company Stamp-It Productions Inc., will film contestants at the Hilton as well as San Diego’s Hilton in the Gaslamp Quarter and the Universal City Hilton in Los Angeles.

Stamp-It Productions plans to produce and air about eight episodes aimed at young adults, 18 to 35, via digital media such as iPod, YouTube and MySpace.

The company is looking for young adults who can talk about their dream journey by submitting a video or calling in for a casting opportunity. For more information, call (888) 649-6905 or visit joal.tv. Deadline to apply is Feb. 1.

McDonnell Douglas awarded $20M contract

Huntington Beach-based Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. on Jan. 10 won a $20-million deal to provide technology and engineering know-how to its Delta IV Rocket launch program. Under the U.S. Air Force contract, McDonnell Douglas will perform equipment checks and technological improvements to minimize risk of launch failure for the rocket program.

Work is expected to be completed by December this year.

Boeing is the largest employer in Huntington Beach with about 6,500 to 8,000 employees. The company also owns a 178-acre facility in the city.