Gym

A Westminster man who worked as a trainer at a Fountain Valley gym died over the weekend when a boat struck him in the water in Lake Havasu. Eric "Octopus" Norris, 30, was pronounced dead about 6 p.m. Saturday after what authorities called an apparent hit-and-run. Norris fell off an inner tube while being pulled by a boat across the lake, according to the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. While he was waiting for the boat to double back and pick him up, another boat struck him and left the scene.

Despite protests from neighbors, Huntington Beach City Council members this week approved plans for a 2,700-square-foot gymnasium at Brethren Christian School. The school?s request drew protests from about 50 neighbors at Monday?s council meeting. The neighbors are concerned the gym will spur more traffic and noise. About 400 neighbors signed a petition protesting the gym, according to neighbor Alicia Waterhouse. ?We can only suppose all the activity that would take place,?

Angelique Flores The district's four community advisory committees met for the first time last week to begin mulling over concerns about the proposed middle school gyms before they make recommendations to the Ocean View School District Board of Trustees. "There's lots of anger, mistrust," Trustee Carol Kanode said. "People are unsure that this process is one we'll listen to." With mixed emotions and a laundry list of issues to tackle, three of the committees zeroed in on the main concerns of the project.

Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School is one step closer to starting construction on a 26,785-square-foot gymnasium after the city’s Design Review Board approved the project this afternoon. The board approved the gymnasium’s design, colors and materials after the school made several changes to the plans for the 31-foot-tall building. The board voted 3-1 in favor of the project. “We took every step we’re required to take,” said Kevin Coleman, the applicant for the project.

Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School is one step closer to starting construction on a 26,785-square-foot gymnasium after the city’s Design Review Board approved the project this afternoon. The board approved the gymnasium’s design, colors and materials after the school made several changes to the plans for the 31-foot-tall building. The board voted 3-1 in favor of the project. “We took every step we’re required to take,” said Kevin Coleman, the applicant for the project.

What is going on in our city of Huntington Beach is a bigger issue than building a 27,000-square-foot multipurpose gym in a quiet residential neighborhood (“Gym doesn’t warrant protest,” Mailbag, July 2). It is a bigger issue than a gym that will hold more than 1,400 people. It is a bigger issue than holding Friday and Saturday night football games with more than 900 spectators 150 feet from someone’s home. It is a bigger issue than hundreds of cars flooding a quiet neighborhood with traffic, noise, lights, air pollution and filling every neighborhood parking space a quarter-mile away.

Jenny Marder A new women's fitness wave is sweeping through town. With four new Curves gyms opened in Huntington Beach in the last three months, Surf City appears to have joined the country's newest workout craze. The female-friendly gym, which was started in the Bible Belt town of Waco, Texas, has expanded exponentially from 44 international locations in 1996 to more than 5,000 today. There is one Curves gym for every four McDonald's in America. In Orange County, the number will have skyrocketed from 18 sites in October to 50 by the end of the month.

A Westminster man who worked as a trainer at a Fountain Valley gym died over the weekend when a boat struck him in the water in Lake Havasu. Eric "Octopus" Norris, 30, was pronounced dead about 6 p.m. Saturday after what authorities called an apparent hit-and-run. Norris fell off an inner tube while being pulled by a boat across the lake, according to the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. While he was waiting for the boat to double back and pick him up, another boat struck him and left the scene.

The Planning Commission will review the use of Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School’s gymnasium and field Tuesday after numerous complaints from residents and two notifications from the city. Brethren Christian’s conditional use permit will be scrutinized by the commission and could face further review, be put on a public hearing for modifications or be revoked. The conditional use permit was approved by the City Council in May and allows the private school to build a 27,000-square-foot, 31-foot-tall gymnasium, use it for school and community uses and employ the existing soccer field as a football field with bleacher seating and four portable lights.

Neighbors of the Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School are in settlement talks with the city of Huntington Beach, after filing a lawsuit against them. The neighbors, who formed the Neighborhoods for Safety and Quality, filed a lawsuit June 19 over the construction of the private school?s new gymnasium. The 26,785-square-foot, 31-foot-tall building is part of the school?s $3.5-million renovation plan. The settlement talk is a common first step in a lawsuit, said Terry Crowther, a Neighborhoods for Safety and Quality member in the settlement discussion.

Regarding “H.B. to oversee Sunset,” July 9: My wife and I have been property owners in Sunset Beach since 1974. We raised our two sons there in the small community atmosphere. We moved to Old Town Huntington Beach about 14 years ago, and now a very nice, young couple is renting our Sunset Beach cottage and plan to start their new family in the same small community atmosphere. After we moved to Huntington Beach, the city hired a contractor to re-tar the street and, in the process, the contractor destroyed the curb, wiping out the curb in some spots and chipping it in others.

Residents near Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School filed a lawsuit this afternoon against the city after the school and city approved plans for expansion that include an approximately 31-foot-tall, 26,785-square-foot gymnasium. The residents contend that the plan does not conform to predetermined laws regarding land use, traffic, design parking and the California Environmental Quality Act, a statute requiring local agencies to pinpoint and lessen significant environmental implications of actions like construction.

Residents near Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School filed a lawsuit this afternoon against the city after the school and city approved plans for expansion that include an approximately 31-foot-tall, 26,785-square-foot gymnasium. The residents contend that the plan does not conform to predetermined laws regarding land use, traffic, design parking and the California Environmental Quality Act, a statute requiring local agencies to pinpoint and lessen significant environmental implications of actions like construction.

Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School is one step closer to starting construction on a 26,785-square-foot gymnasium after the city’s Design Review Board approved the project June 11. The board approved the gymnasium’s design, colors and materials after the school made several changes to the plans for the 31-foot-tall building. The board voted 3-1 in favor of the project. “We took every step we’re required to take,” said Kevin Coleman, the applicant for the project.