2020 in review: Top stories of the year in Newport Beach
Like other cities in Orange County and around the world, Newport Beach is not alone in its experiences in a year shaped largely by the ongoing pandemic and sweeping shutdown orders.
The city saw beach closures, tragedy, new members of its City Council, a presidential visit, an agreement for a homeless shelter and the cancellation of a time-honored Christmas tradition as part of a number of events that rocked 2020.
Here are some of the top stories of Newport Beach in 2020:
Kobe Bryant, Newport Beach residents die in helicopter crash in Calabasas
In January, Kobe Bryant, 41; his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli; Sarah and Payton Chester; Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas in late January. The helicopter had been en route to a game at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks.
But as Los Angeles and the world mourned the loss of the Lakers superstar, so too did Orange County, who, along with Bryant, who residents said they knew as the father of four that lived just up the street and Gianna, a strong leader who looked out for the underdog, lost also the young athletes and their parents aboard the aircraft.
Seven of the victims lived in Newport Beach and two lived in neighboring Huntington Beach.
Coronavirus-fueled restrictions on vacation rentals implemented
Newport Beach placed a six-week moratorium on vacation rentals in the city in an effort to tamp down on visitors early on in the pandemic. Councilwoman Diane Dixon said in April that market forces drove down about 95% of local short-term rental business in the city, but that Newport remained an “attractive nuisance.”
The moratorium was approved unanimously, with Muldoon absent, and was to run through May 20 or through the duration of the city’s local emergency. More than 1,500 homes in Newport Beach held short-term lodging permits, concentrated on the Balboa Peninsula and Balboa Island and in Corona del Mar neighborhoods.
Restrictions were eventually relaxed in May. Rentals resumed on May 20, provided that visitors remained for at least three days. On Newport Island, the moratorium was rescinded in June and required four-night stays. The minimum-stay requirement will lift when the city rescinds its locally declared emergency.
Newport Beach, Orange County targeted in beach closures
After an April heatwave brought tens of thousands of people to Orange County beaches, Gov. Gavin Newsom targeted them for a “hard closure,” which he argued threatened state efforts to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
Cities complied with the order but weren’t happy about it. Newport Beach and Huntington Beach had already implemented crowd control measures such as closures of their respective boardwalks, piers and parking restrictions. Some city and county officials considered the beach closures an overreach of Newsom’s power as governor.
Newport filed a court brief in support of neighboring Huntington Beach. Newport Beach Councilman Kevin Muldoon — now mayor pro tem — filed his own lawsuit against Newsom’s order.
Black Lives Matter protestors demonstrate in Newport Beach
Demonstrations against institutional racism and police brutality emerged across the nation this summer after George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died in Minneapolis while being restrained by white police Officer Derek Chauvin.
These demonstrations also appeared in Newport Beach, where hundreds of protestors chanted the names of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.
On June 3, four protests were organized in Newport Beach. The protests were peaceful with the exception of an aggressive driver who allegedly grazed several marchers as he sped down Balboa Boulevard and another man who allegedly pulled a handgun from his backpack following a verbal altercation with protestors.
Robicheaux case heads to state attorney general
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced in February that he intended to drop all charges made in 2018 against a Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend, whom then-District Attorney Tony Rackauckas had portrayed as a predatory team who lured, drugged and raped multiple women.
When the charges were filed against orthopedic surgeon and one-time reality TV personality Grant Robicheaux and girlfriend Cerissa Riley, Rackauckas claimed investigators had “thousands of videos” in evidence that showed there could be “hundreds” or “more than a thousand” victims.
Citing a thorough review of evidence since he took office last year, Spitzer said there were no photos or videos that depict women being sexually violated. Robicheaux and Riley have denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. The decision on whether or not the case would head to trial or be dismissed was delayed to April.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregory Jones declined to dismiss the charges in June, but attorneys for Robicheaux and Riley argued that Jones should step down from the case because of a bias for an alleged victim’s attorney. The case was later handed off to the state attorney general‘s office for prosecution in August.
President Donald Trump visits Newport Beach for private fundraiser
President Donald Trump visited Newport Beach in October to attend a private fundraiser at the Lido Isle mansion of tech mogul Palmer Luckey. The fundraiser managed to raise $10 million for Trump’s reelection efforts.
Thousands of people both in support of and against Trump lined the streets of Newport Beach that weekend. There were no arrests related to the president’s visit, police said.
The fundraiser was initially scheduled for Oct. 6, but was delayed after Trump contracted COVID-19. Trump later lost in his bid for reelection to President-elect Joe Biden.
Brad Avery, Will O’Neill re-elected, Noah Blom elected to Newport Beach City Council
In what was a turbulent presidential election season, Councilman Brad Avery and Will O’Neill were reelected to the Newport Beach City Council in November. Newcomer and restaurateur Noah Blom edged out incumbent Jeff Herdman to represent District 5, which encompasses Balboa Island.
O’Neill ran unopposed in District 7, which represents Newport Coast, and Avery ran against newcomer Nancy Scarbrough.
The recently elected council members were sworn in in December. Avery was appointed the mayor and Councilman Kevin Muldoon was appointed the mayor pro tempore.
Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade canceled
The 112th annual Newport Beach Christmas Parade was canceled this year in response to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
The parade was initially set to be livestreamed during its run, but organizers said that there was no way to ensure visitors were wearing masks or face coverings and respecting social distancing in places where people could possibly gather. Current Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Muldoon tried to save the parade and discuss the possibility of having city staff assist.
Residents later took the parade into their own hands and organized “Let Freedom Ring” in Newport Harbor.
Newport Beach partners with Costa Mesa for bridge shelter
The city unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with Costa Mesa in late November to partner on a 70-bed homeless bridge shelter at 3175 Airway Ave.
The agreement provides 20 beds to Newport Beach for an initial term of five years. In exchange, the city will provide $1.6 million in one-time funds to finance construction of the shelter and an additional initial $1 million annually for operation costs.
A 12,285-square-foot portion of an industrial warehouse building on Airway Avenue is being retrofitted by the Cerritos-based Cal-City Construction, Inc. to accommodate the shelter with a full-service kitchen with office and intake space.
Newport files amicus brief in support of Orange County sheriff
Newport Beach recently filed an amicus brief in support of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department after a court ruling from Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson was handed down on a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Wilson ruled that Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes had shown “deliberate indifference” to the substantial risk that the coronavirus can pose to medically vulnerable people in custody, which he ruled in turn violates their constitutional rights.
Twenty other cities joined the brief filed Dec. 24.
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