Huntington Center

-- Eron Ben-Yehuda Breathing life into the Huntington Center mall is a top priority for newly appointed Mayor Dave Garofalo, who hopes to preside over a ceremony next year for the demolition of the aging center's decrepit core -- the abandoned Broadway building. "Give people hope," he has said. The future for the ailing mall at the corner of Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard already appears brighter since a new owner came along in July. Irvine-based Ezralow Retail Properties LLC paid $50 million and may spend another $50 million building an open-air mall with new retail stores, restaurants and a movie theater.

Paul Clinton A 44-year-old Buena Park man led police on a low-speed pursuit that ended in a 30-minute standoff at Huntington Center. The man, who police said appeared to be suicidal, sat in his black Mustang near the end of the Beach Boulevard offramp of the San Diego Freeway until a medical evaluation team convinced him to surrender. The team worked on behalf of the Long Beach Police Department, who took the man into custody almost two hours after confronting him in that city.

Tariq Malik HUNTINGTON BEACH -- City officials are pressing forward to reinvent the Huntington Center and turn it into an upscale commercial enterprise despite protests from its tenants. With signs bearing such epitaphs as "Save our Jobs" and "We Don't Wanna Go," employees from mall tenants Burlington Coat Factory and Montgomery Ward looked on Monday as the City Council voted 6 to 0 to approve the project. Mayor Dave Garofalo was absent during the vote because of a potential conflict of interest.

Tariq Malik HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The city's decision to redevelop the Huntington Center into an Italian-style village filled with upscale shops and restaurants has sent waves of resentment and distress to some of the mall's tenants. Employees of the Burlington Coat Factory and representatives from Wards, two of the three businesses still operating at the mall, are lamenting over the Oct. 2 decision by the City Council and what it means to their future.

Bryce Alderton After years of broken plans and bankrupt businesses, efforts to revamp the 30-year-old Huntington Center at Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue and build an upscale, open-air mall are moving forward once again. Project planners are currently working on site design plans to convert the rundown mall into an entertainment and shopping center that will afford visitors the chance to enjoy the cool ocean breezes and the warm sunshine the city offers.

AT ISSUE: City officials want to move Burlington Coat Factory and Wards from the Huntington Center to an unknown area of the city. I feel that I must express my feeling on the decision regarding our Huntington Center ("Council OKs glitzy Huntington Center plan," Oct. 5). To invest our community's tax dollars in an unproven and, in my opinion, reasonably risky development plan is not in the best interest of the voters and taxpayers. I am sure that our whole community would like to see Huntington Center redeveloped into a shopping complex that not only would be a good tax producer, but also an area that all of Huntington Beach could be proud of. It would seem logical, since the City Council seems determined to invest our tax dollars in this project, to protect our investment and build on a proven financially stable base.

One of the largest flags ever to fly in Orange County will be raised at Huntington Center on Tuesday morning to kick off a celebration that will last until Veteran's Day, city officials said. The Huntington Beach Police honor guard will post the colors, with Chief Ron Lowenberg leading everyone in pledging allegiance. The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will be attended by city dignitaries, police, fire and veterans, including Congressional Medal Winner Walter Ehlers who will address the audience.

One down (with the closing of Wards) and one to go, in the never-ending saga to get a decent retail center in the ghost town that was Huntington Center ("Wards' closure may 'breathe new life' into mall," Jan. 4). Burlington can be sure, with their sabotaging of the what appears to be a doomed proposed project there, that I will never be darkening their doors.MARK TEMPLE Huntington Beach Avoid being ticketed by moving your car Here we go again, someone complaining about getting parking tickets.

Editor?s note: This is part two of Jerry Person?s look back at Christmas in Huntington Beach in 1966. ? For teenagers of 1966 it was a time when surfing was just becoming popular with the masses, thanks to the Frankie and Annette movies. It was a time when kids slathered on Johnson?s baby oil mixed with iodine for that ?tan look? in the winter while lying out in front of Vic?s and eating ?strips.? It was a time to watch Lloyd Thaxton and Dick Clark on television, and listen to music played by Wolfman Jack, Wink Martindale, Bill Balance and Gary Owens on the radio.

Tariq Malik HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Burlington Coat Factory officials have asked two City Council members to abstain from voting on an upcoming eminent domain hearing regarding the Huntington Center because of a possible conflict of interest. Tom Harman and Pam Julien -- who ran successfully for state Assembly and City Council, respectively -- received campaign contributions totaling more than $3,000 from Irvine-based developer Ezralow Retail Property LLC last month.

Redevelopment officials in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley are reeling at the thought of the state budget being balanced on their backs, as both cities expect to lose millions of dollars from their coffers in the coming months. The state budget, which was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday afternoon, called for the state to seize $1.7 billion from statewide redevelopment agencies in order to close a budget deficit of more than $24 billion. Fountain Valley expects to hand Sacramento more than $3 million of its redevelopment funds.

Redevelopment officials in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley are reeling at the thought of the state budget being balanced on their backs, as both cities expect to lose millions of dollars from their coffers in the coming months. The state budget, which was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday afternoon, called for the state to seize $1.7 billion from statewide redevelopment agencies in order to close a budget deficit of more than $24 billion. Fountain Valley expects to hand Sacramento more than $3 million of its redevelopment funds.

Editor?s note: This is part two of Jerry Person?s look back at Christmas in Huntington Beach in 1966. ? For teenagers of 1966 it was a time when surfing was just becoming popular with the masses, thanks to the Frankie and Annette movies. It was a time when kids slathered on Johnson?s baby oil mixed with iodine for that ?tan look? in the winter while lying out in front of Vic?s and eating ?strips.? It was a time to watch Lloyd Thaxton and Dick Clark on television, and listen to music played by Wolfman Jack, Wink Martindale, Bill Balance and Gary Owens on the radio.

What do Carat's, Elam's Men Store, The Pie Man, Willis Shoe Repair and Security First National Bank have in common? If you were around here in 1966, you would know the answer. These businesses were some of the original tenants at "The Mall" or, as we came to know it, the Huntington Center, where the new Bella Terra shopping mall is today. I recently read that DJM Partners, the developers of Bella Terra, are planning to tear down the last vestige of the old center, notably the Montgomery Ward buildings.

Tom Titus The Huntington Beach Playhouse is ensconced in probably the finest community theater facility in Orange County, but it's not home. The theater group's location, at the Huntington Beach Library, may be a treat for its audiences, but it's no bed of roses for the playhouse's board of directors, who must accede to their landlord's dictates. That's why, three years ago, productions were shortened from four weekends to three -- with weekend matinees and Sunday evening performances being added so no revenue would be lost.

Creativity the answer, not budget cuts The answer to our city budget woes is not cuts, but instead how the city creatively increases its revenues. As a resident serving on the city's finance board, spending multiple meetings until 2 a.m. reviewing this matter, I can honestly say to my fellow residents that the fat has been cut. Any more cuts would cause city services to implode and we will see the city we love become more dirty and broken down. The finance board recently made 20 recommendations to help our city.

Gold shovels pierced the soil Saturday as developers broke ground for a new affordable housing complex slated to open this time next year. The three-story apartment project, dubbed Beachview Villa, will be the first single adult affordable housing complex of this scale and size in Huntington Beach, and the fourth in Orange County. "There is a desperate need for affordable housing in this area," said Diane Stewart, an independent affordable housing consultant working with the project.

Paul Clinton A 44-year-old Buena Park man led police on a low-speed pursuit that ended in a 30-minute standoff at Huntington Center. The man, who police said appeared to be suicidal, sat in his black Mustang near the end of the Beach Boulevard offramp of the San Diego Freeway until a medical evaluation team convinced him to surrender. The team worked on behalf of the Long Beach Police Department, who took the man into custody almost two hours after confronting him in that city.

Bryce Alderton Design plans are in the final stages for the much anticipated redevelopment of the Huntington Center Mall into an Italian outdoor entertainment center. Every two weeks since October, Huntington Beach Planning Director Howard Zelefsky has met with architects from The Jerde Partnership and co-developers at The J.H. Snyder Co. and The Ezralow Co., in hopes of getting mall plans approved by April. "We're going layer by layer and it's in the last stage of design of the site," Zelefsky said.

A year ago, it would never have occurred to anyone that a list of New Year's wishes should include that America not suffer a second deadly attack on its own shores. Now, it rises to the top of any such list and makes a list of hometown wishes here in Huntington Beach seem, maybe, a little less important given the fortune we are blessed with just by calling Surf City our home. Still, along with the continued safety and prosperity of our community, there are small wishes to hope will come true in 2002: Clear improvements in the city's water quality.