Featured Articles from the Huntington Beach Independent

T he tragedy that struck the coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast raises the question: Could a similar catastrophe occur to our own wetlands like Bolsa Chica, which is still an active oil field? Over the years, a few oil spills have occurred in the wetland from sources outside Bolsa Chica. While they did not and probably never will approach the magnitude of the Gulf spill, they did cause some ecological and economic damage. I expect they will continue to occur, which brings up another question: Are we prepared?

Huntington Beach has trademarked the moniker "Surf City USA," sealing an important victory over rival Santa Cruz in the fight to obtain exclusive rights to the name. The decades-long spat between the two cities over which one was the rightful owner of the "Surf City USA" title turned ugly in November 2004 when the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau moved to trademark the phrase. Santa Cruz objected to the bureau's efforts to get exclusive rights to the nickname and applied for its own "Original Surf City, USA" handle.

A t least one Huntington Beach resident didn't have a relaxing Memorial Day weekend. But he wouldn't have had it any other way. A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about Tom Jones, an athlete who planned to paddle from Florida to New York to raise awareness about plastic in the ocean. Jones, who described himself as "the Red Cross for the ocean," set his sights on raising $500,000 to fund clean-up efforts. It's not the first time Jones has undertaken an epic journey. In 2007, he ventured 1,250 miles from Oregon to Mexico.

The campaign to restore the Bolsa Chica wetlands and the ongoing battles over development have undergone many twists and turns over the last 10 years. Here are some of the highlights:   November 2000: The California Coastal Commission limits Hearthside Homes’ 1,235-unit residential project, originally slated for 183 acres, to 65 acres in an effort to preserve land. Hearthside and landowner Signal Landmark file a lawsuit, but the Superior Court judge upholds the commission’s decision in 2001.

Some programs at Golden West College could have to cut back after a new bookstore contract allows the district to take revenue dollars that would normally be used to fund athletic, performing arts and academic programs. The Coast Community College District, which also oversees Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa and Coastline Community College in Fountain Valley, consolidated its three campus bookstores in April, changing the route of bookstore revenues from the colleges to the district with no direction as to whether the money will go back to the students.

B eing chief executive of a company isn't easy, especially when the company is being built from the ground up, but 17-year-old Jade Talley has made it work, despite what she had thought. "I didn't know I could actually do this job," she said. "I learned I can do about anything from this job." Jade is the CEO of System Overload, a virtual company that sells virtual products for virtual money. Although a lot of pretending goes into the endeavor, the work put into it and the lessons taken out of it were real.

Landing a first job is tough. With no job experience to speak of and nothing to put on a resume, employers are hesitant to give workers a chance. Matthew Russell, a 22-year-old with autism, knows all about the troubles of trying to get hired. “We’ve been through a lot of interviews, but it didn’t really go through,” he said. “It was difficult.” The Huntington Beach resident had no experience except a high school diploma under his belt.

I just love working with the young men and women of the Orange County Conservation Corps. I had a crew of new hires at Bolsa Chica last week for an introduction to wildlife, habitats and conservation. Vic often joins my classes for lunch, but he was heavily engaged in final exams at Golden West College and wasn't able to participate in the fun. Part of my morning program is a wildlife survey of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Over time, we've accumulated valuable data on what time of year certain species of wildlife are likely to be seen.

N ot long ago, gardeners seemed to spend as much time controlling pests as they did any other garden activity. Malathion, diazinon, Dursban and chlordane were about as popular as marigolds, dianthus, dahlias and chrysanthemum. It's nice to see that gardeners have evolved a much more laissez-faire approach to the six-legged inhabitants that share our gardens. Maybe gardeners today are just too busy, or maybe they're just not paying as close of attention as they used to, but there seems to be a lot less spraying, dusting, baiting and generalized killing going on in gardens nowadays.

T wo stories this week highlighted some great efforts being made in Huntington Beach on behalf of kids, and by kids themselves. We start by going back to 1991 San Diego. You may remember the tragic case of Leticia Hernandez, the Oceanside youngster who was kidnapped in 1989 during Christmastime. Her disappearance struck a sympathetic chord nationwide, and millions were shocked and saddened when her remains were discovered near the Pala Indian Reservation. From the loss, though, sprung hope in the form of a program called KinderVision, a national child safety education program dedicated to the protection of children from abduction and sexual exploitation.

F or more than a few actors and directors, community theater is less an avocation than a calling. One of the most notable in that regard is Stephen Reifenstein. "I live with a passion for the stage, both on and off," he stated. "Theater is my life in so many ways." Reifenstein, the executive producer of the Huntington Beach Playhouse, saw a production of "Bye Bye Birdie" at age 11 and was hooked. Small wonder, because Rosie was played by local legend Adriana Sanchez. "A few months later, I auditioned for 'Charlotte's Web' at the La Habra Depot Theatre," he said.

Adriel and Aian Vissani plan to board an airplane for the first time in their lives in August 2011. And they don't expect the life-changing experience to end there. The twin brothers are among the members of St. Wilfrid's Episcopal Church in Huntington Beach flying to Arusha, Tanzania next summer to help renovate a school and soccer field. The Vissanis have been out of the country before when they went on church missions to Tijuana, but they expect the shock to be even greater when they land in the impoverished African country.

Sunset Beach may soon apply to incorporate as a city but leave its beach in the care of Orange County, a recommendation made by a financial consultant ay a recent town hall meeting. At the May 20 meeting, which about 100 residents attended, representatives from Willdan Financial Services laid out three possible scenarios for the seaside community becoming the newest — and smallest — city in the county. In the preferred scenario, which Sunset Beach Community Assn.

Prosecutors announced the arrest today of 53 Orange County car mechanics and auto body shop owners, including two from Huntington Beach and one from Fountain Valley, accused of defrauding insurance companies. Between January and May this year, undercover district attorney investigators conducted the largest auto body repair insurance fraud sting in county history, dubbed Operation Straight Body. Among those arrested was Huntington Beach Body Works shop owner Richard Evans, who is the star of Speed Channel’s “Chop Cut Rebuild” show and has been featured on “Monster Garage.