Legislators push Bolsa buy

In a letter addressed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was

inaugurated in Sacramento on Monday, a group of Orange County

legislators urged the state acquisition of the Bolsa Chica Mesa with

Proposition 50 funding.

The letter was signed by Huntington Beach Assemblyman Tom Harman,

John Campbell (R-Newport Beach), Ken Maddox (R-Costa Mesa),

Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher (R-Brea), Assemblywoman Pat Bates

(R-Laguna Nigel) state Sen. Joseph Dunn (D-Santa Ana), state Sen.

Ross Johnson (R-Irvine), state Sen. Dick Ackerman (R-Tustin) and

Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana.)

Former Gov. Gray Davis earmarked roughly $200 million in

Proposition 50 funding, the Clean Water and Coastal Protection Bond

of 2002, for the Bolsa Chica Mesa in August. Legislators have urged

Schwarzenegger to do the same.

Purchase of the Bolsa Chica Mesa is singled out as a state

priority in the language of Proposition 50.

“The communities of our region have reached an historic consensus

about the use of the Mesa,” the letter read. “They believe that

acquisition for the public benefit would best serve the environment,

business and local communities. The Mesa represents an opportunity to

preserve an important ecological and archeological treasure within

our urbanized region.”

Flossie Horgan, executive director of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust,

lauded the letter as an important step for the mesa.

“It’s bipartisan and it’s from Orange County, and I think it

should help us,” Horgan said.

The land is owned by Hearthside Homes, which plans to build 388

homes on the 65-acre Bolsa Chica Mesa. Development plans have not

changed, said Lucy Dunn, company vice president. Dunn declined to

comment on the letter.

An appraisal of the mesa was started by the state Wildlife

Conservation Board in March. Now, the state agency is seeking a

second appraisal.

Calls to Al Wright, executive director of the Wildlife

Conservation Board, were not returned by the Independent’s deadline.

“The second appraisal is going to prolong the process,” Horgan

said. “However, we want the funds to be there when negotiations go

forward.”

Council postpones desalination vote

The City Council pushed back the vote on the proposed Poseidon

desalination plant to Dec. 15.

The environmental report for the $250-million plant, which would

convert saltwater to drinking water, was approved by the Planning

Commission on Aug. 12, but appealed by Mayor Connie Boardman.

The Planning Commission was unable to reach a decision on two of

the project’s other permits and passed them on to the City Council.

Boardman said at the meeting that she appealed the report because

she felt that it did not adequately address effects of growth as well

as some biological information.

The facility would be built next to the AES power plant. It would

pull water from the plant’s discharge pipe and treat it to produce 50

million gallons of potable drinking water per day.

It would be the largest desalination plant in the nation.

When other city issues ran later than anticipated, Poseidon Senior

Vice President Billy Owens asked the council to consider a

continuance.

“We don’t want to catch the council fatigued or tired from earlier

discussion,” Owens said. “We want to make sure that there’s ample

opportunity to continue discussing issues. We want to make sure that

you’re able to consider this in a proper manner.”

Critics at the meeting have argued that the plant’s discharge

would be harmful to marine animals and would worsen already polluted

waters off Huntington Beach.

If the proposal passes the city vote on Dec. 15, it will still

need approval from other regulatory agencies, including the

California Coastal Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency

and the California Department of Health Services.

American Legion asks for flagpoles at Pier Plaza

When patriotic ceremonies are held at Pier Plaza, organizers pound

stakes into the ground and prop flags onto the makeshift posts.

The American Legion is pushing for a more permanent form of

patriotism.

Michael Johnson, commander of the Huntington Beach Legion Post No.

133, wants a set of three flagpoles to be erected at the grass area

near the foot of the Pier Plaza amphitheater.

“We do our ceremonies down there, and it’s the focal point to the

city as far as we’re concerned,” Johnson said. “It’s the center of

town, it’s gorgeous, and there’s no flagpoles.”

The plan is to erect a 40-foot center pole, which would fly an

American flag, flanked on both sides by two 35-foot flagpoles flying

a state flag and a Huntington Beach flag.

“We think that the city’s missing something by not being able to

show off its flag,” Johnson said. “Now we have to plant them in the

grass, and that’s sort of tacky.”

For veterans’ ceremonies, Johnson said, the Prisoners of

War/Missing in Action flag and the “We Support our Troops” blue star

banner could be raised.

The American Legion has started a pledge to collect donations for

the flags, which are valued at $10,000. The group has already raised

more than $1,000 since the pledge opened Veterans Day.

The American Legion’s goal is to have the flags up by Flag Day, on

June 14.

“Rather than go to the city, which is in financial distress, we’d

like to do this as a citizen’s effort,” Johnson said.

For information, call Johnson at (714) 968-4061. Send donations to

P.O. Box 133, Huntington Beach, CA 92648.

Grant to help create new vegetation

A state organization has given the Bolsa Chica Conservancy $9,000

to create a swath of native vegetation at the Bolsa Chica.

The Southern California Wetland Recovery Project will provide

funding to the local nonprofit group to plant native vegetation along

the mesa, the lower and upper marshes, and muted tidal and full tidal

areas.

The Southern California Wetland Recovery Project is a partnership

of public agencies that work to acquire, restore and enhance coastal

wetland and watersheds in Southern California.

The conservancy will use the money to replace nonnative grasses

and plants with native vegetation. The hope is to draw more birds to

the mesa, the lower and upper marshes and the tidal area.

Conservancy officials say that the Belding’s Savannah sparrow,

hawks, meadowlarks and hummingbirds will benefit most from the

project.

For more information, call the Bolsa Chica Conservancy at (714)

846-1114 or visit https://www.bolsachica.org.

The conservancy, founded in 1990, strives to restore and preserve

the Bolsa Chica wetlands and to educate the community about the

importance of wetland preservation.

Duke’s restaurant to hold food drive

Duke’s Huntington Beach is looking for help from the community to

reach out to those in need.

Surf City’s beachside restaurant will have a canned food drive

from Dec. 8 to 14 for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.

Needed items are canned juices and soups, canned meats, canned fish,

beef stew, chili, pasta and canned fruits and vegetables.

Duke’s Huntington Beach is on the water’s edge at 317 Pacific

Coast Highway, at the intersection of Main Street.

For more information about the food drive, contact Duke’s at (714)

374- 6446.