Oil Wells

You'd think Surf City invented surfing. No way. When Surf City consisted of a few miles of oil wells and a saltwater plunge, there was surfing in Newport Beach. One day in the early 1920s, Duke Kahanamoku, world-famous Hawaiian royalty, Olympic swimming champion and currently a movie star, was driving along the coast and saw a long sandbar that reached out from what is now the main beach at Corona del Mar. He made note of the beautiful surf that built up on that sandbar and when the Corona del Mar bath house was built in 1924, the Duke and some of his more muscular friends -- they had to be muscular to handle those 250-pound mahogany boards -- began surfing at Corona del Mar and leaving their boards at the bath house.

Eron Ben-Yehuda HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A former city councilman was arraigned Tuesday on 159 criminal violations stemming from an oil spill that killed 14 birds. John Thomas, who has championed environmental causes in the past, is charged with contaminating a pond near oil wells he operates by Edwards Street and Ellis Avenue, Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Zidbeck said. Thomas is also charged with failing to report the contamination and harming wildlife, Each count is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum penalty of six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.

Jenny Marder Before the heavy work has even begun on the Bolsa Chica restoration, the price tag has already jumped from $100 million to $109 million. But it may get the needed $10-million infusion today from the California Coastal Conservancy. The state agency committed to protecting wetlands in Southern California will vote today on a proposal to earmark an additional $10 million for a plan to restore the Bolsa Chica lowlands into lush habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife.

“I miss the oil wells today. I haven’t been to Huntington Beach in over a month. I want to visit my parents, but there’s so little time left of summer and so much to do. So here’s a picture for me.” So reads the caption next to a classic shot of a Huntington Beach oil well at hboilwells.blogspot.com , created by artist Terri Hughes-Oelrich. You’ll find all sorts of odes to oil on the site, along with images of art Hughes-Oelrich has created — art that was inspired by the oil wells that, once ubiquitous here in town, for many are a faded memory.

Regarding “Alcala sentenced to death,” March 11: Instead of execution by the state, the judge could just as well have sentenced Rodney James Alcala to play shortstop for the Angels or discover perpetual motion. Why go through the greatly added time and treasure to impose a penalty that we all know will never be paid? He’s already been on death row longer than any of his victims had a chance to live on this earth. Where’s the justice in this? Not all offenders pose a threat Regarding “Time to be more aware,” In the Pipeline, March 18: What a fascinating story!

Most people have no idea that Huntington Beach was at one time the third-largest oil field in California, with a forest of wooden and steel oil derricks as far as the eye could see. With so many wells, it was not uncommon for a mishap to occur. Being a worker in our oil fields in those early days was an occupation not for the weak of heart. Many men have underestimated the destructive power that is unleashed when a drill strikes gas and oil in the bowels of the Earth. This week, we will go back to a time in Huntington Beach's oil history when accidents were a frequent danger to both the men who worked in our oil fields and to the residents living near those oil fields.

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?

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.

Jenny Marder By 2007 a vast portion of Bolsa Chica will have been transformed from 1,300 acres of dry, neglected land dotted with oil rigs to a lush, tidal marsh -- a watery haven for endangered birds, fish and other wildlife. The eight groups manning the long-awaited restoration project are poised to move forward with construction, state and federal officials told a group of nearly 200 residents at a town hall meeting Thursday. "I think it's a wonderful project," said Jack O'Brien, 65, a Surf City resident who takes frequent walks along the wetlands.

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?

Regarding “Alcala sentenced to death,” March 11: Instead of execution by the state, the judge could just as well have sentenced Rodney James Alcala to play shortstop for the Angels or discover perpetual motion. Why go through the greatly added time and treasure to impose a penalty that we all know will never be paid? He’s already been on death row longer than any of his victims had a chance to live on this earth. Where’s the justice in this? Not all offenders pose a threat Regarding “Time to be more aware,” In the Pipeline, March 18: What a fascinating story!

“I miss the oil wells today. I haven’t been to Huntington Beach in over a month. I want to visit my parents, but there’s so little time left of summer and so much to do. So here’s a picture for me.” So reads the caption next to a classic shot of a Huntington Beach oil well at hboilwells.blogspot.com , created by artist Terri Hughes-Oelrich. You’ll find all sorts of odes to oil on the site, along with images of art Hughes-Oelrich has created — art that was inspired by the oil wells that, once ubiquitous here in town, for many are a faded memory.

Huntington Beach’s biggest newsmaker of the last 10 years was not a politician, not an activist, not a city commission or grass-roots organization, but a 1,200-acre stretch of wetlands bordering the Pacific Ocean. It was a decade of change and growth for Huntington Beach, as the city grew to more than 200,000 residents, trademarked the nickname “Surf City USA” and underwent political turmoil on and off the dais. But the name that most dominated city news from 2000 to 2009 was one that didn’t even belong to a person: Bolsa Chica.

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.

Huntington Beach is in the midst of a major face lift. The classic surf shops (Gordie, Greek, Sea Ski, etc.) are long gone. Jack in the Box on Lake (excuse me, on First Street) has gone the way of the dodo. Wimpi’s is gone without a whimper. Today, strip malls, restaurant plazas and lifeless parking structures are in vogue. Moms and pops who once owned small businesses are now grandmas and grandpas residing in assisted living facilities. Surf City is starting to look more like boring beige Irvine.