CITY ROUNDUP:

Appearing at a Minuteman Project rally outside of his downtown district office Saturday and during a news conference Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher reiterated his support for two former border patrol agents convicted in the 2005 shooting of an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler.

Agents Ignacio Ramos and José Compeán, who are in federal prison on 11-year and 12-year sentences, have become a cause célèbre for anti-illegal immigration activists. Rohrabacher has repeatedly called for President Bush to pardon them, saying they were merely doing their job and were unfairly punished.

This week, he sharpened his rhetoric while standing beside family members of Ramos, promising to put more pressure on Bush and the next attorney general, calling the treatment cruel and “possibly illegal.”

“You cannot hold people in solitary confinement for long periods of time,” Rohrabacher said in an interview. “That’s considered by international standards to be torture.”

Rohrabacher said he didn’t expect Bush to change course on the issue, no matter who ends up as the attorney general.

At his Tuesday news conference, Rohrabacher said he and 45 other members of Congress appealed to Bush’s attorney general nominee, retired Judge Michael Mukasey, to start “a fair and unbiased review” of the agents who were prosecuted. Rohrabacher said if Mukasey refuses to investigate then he’s not fit to be attorney general.

“This whole thing was brought on by having an attorney general who was too close to the president,” Rohrabacher said. “This new attorney general who is supposedly independent of the president should take an independent look.”

Neighboring residents don’t want Costco deal

Dozens of residents asked the City Council at its meeting Monday not to go forward with a proposed deal to bring a Costco to Golden West College.

Westminster residents in a housing development next to the college complained they were not informed of the negotiations, but would still see their neighborhood harmed if the deal went through. Some also said public college land was for classes and sports, not shopping.

“You will be hearing from our City Council,” said Westminster resident Donna French.

No speakers at Monday’s meeting supported the deal. Council took no action on the issue, as it was not on the agenda.

Those who wish to be notified of future meetings related to the Costco contract were asked to call (714) 536-5582 or send an e-mail to dpowell@surfcity-hb.org.

‘Surf City’ negotiations fail, case goes to trial

Negotiations in the lawsuit over the “Surf City USA” trademark broke down last week, Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau President Doug Traub said at Monday’s City Council meeting.

The lawsuit brought by Noland’s On the Wharf and Shoreline Surf Shop in Santa Cruz is scheduled to go to trial early next year.

Residents asked to use 10% less water

Water access battles in the Sacramento Delta are not likely to affect Huntington Beach in the short term, the city’s top water official told the City Council at a study session this week.

But the city is lucky its local water supplies were replenished by record rainfall in the 2005-06 season, utilities manager Howard Johnson said.

The Southern California Metropolitan Water District has ordered the city to pull an unprecedented amount of water out of its local wells this year, and that may hurt the supply in the future, he said.

The lack of rain last year (in the 2006-07 season) meant the city won’t receive water to replenish its underground supplies for some time, he added.

“This year we’re available to take 82% of our demand from the [local] groundwater basin,” he said. “Only 18% of the water supply comes from imported sources. It’s not a huge impact on Huntington Beach, but it certainly can be next year or the year after.”

In the meantime, the city public works department is working on conservation efforts, which include continuing to ask the public to voluntarily use 10% less water.

Harman, Silva legislation reviewed

Harman and Assemblyman Jim Silva each crafted six bills signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this year.

Harman’s legislation includes Senate Bill 793, which standardizes qualifications for lifeguards and swim instructors, and SB 403, which gives courts the power to order alcohol and drug testing for anyone seeking custody or visitation rights.

Silva’s measures that will become law include Assembly Bill 745, which requires political campaigns for local annexations disclose their finances, and AB 1222, which gives local governments more ways to demand reimbursement from the state when asked to perform a service.