Coastal Cleanup Day at Upper Newport Bay – Sept. 23
By Christopher Trela – September 1, 2023
Source: Newport Beach Independent https://www.newportbeachindy.com/coastal-cleanup-day-at-upper-newport-bay-saturday-sept-23/
The Newport Bay Conservancy is hosting Coastal Cleanup Day at Upper Newport Bay on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 9 a.m. to noon.
Volunteers will meet at a dozen different mini-cleanup day sites around the 11-mile bay including the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center, Newport Aquatic Center, Big Canyon, Vista Point, Jamboree Bridge, etc. Exact meeting location will be announced and sent to everyone (group leaders) prior to Sept. 21.
Each September, families, friends, co-workers, scouts and school groups come from all over Orange County to volunteer their time at Upper Newport Bay. With more rain this year bringing more trash into the Bay from our surrounding watershed, we are gearing up for a much-needed deep cleaning of the Bay.
The goal is to remove over 10,000 pounds of trash including a new wave of waste from the increased use of single use plastics, disposable masks, and gloves since the start of the pandemic. These items and others risk harming wildlife, pollute our waterways, and threaten public health and your support is crucial to our mission.
Around 1,000 volunteers are needed to help remove trash from the uplands and marsh areas of the Bay and participate in invasive plant removal. Groups are welcome to participate. There will be bus/shuttles to other areas of the Bay where parking or direct access isn’t available and more accessible options for groups with families.
Everyone should wear old clothes and close-toed shoes because you will get dirty. Feel free to bring your own reusable mask, gloves and trash bag or bucket. It also helps if you have tall/rubber boots or water shoes so you can get into the mud and reach those hard-to-get pieces that may be not as accessible when wearing regular sneakers. Bring a reusable/refillable water bottle so we can reduce our plastic use.
Everyone is welcome to lend a hand, although minors need guardian permission and adult volunteers present (ages six and up may participate). Although we love dogs, please leave your furry friends home. Commemorative t-shirts will be given away to everyone helping out that morning.
For mor information and to register, visit https://www.ocparks.com/events/coastal-cleanup-day-bay.
By Christopher Trela – September 01, 2023
Source: Newport Beach Independent https://www.newportbeachindy.com/coastal-cleanup-day-at-upper-newport-bay-saturday-sept-23/
By Sandra Barrera, Orange County Register
Remember the waterfront mansion on Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula that generated international buzz with a YouTube video that spoofed Cali Swag District’s viral dance hit “Teach Me How to Dougie?”
The video for “Teach Me How to Duffy” helped sell the house for $35.008 million – about 22.2% less than the $44.995 million asking price when it hit the market in Oct. 2018.
Even so, the house, which sold on Aug. 28, set a record.
The sale is highest-priced home to ever sell in Newport Harbor, said Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker, the listing agent. The record previously was held by the home of actor Nicolas Cage, which sold in 2008 for $35 million.
But Smith expected as much.
The house was designed by Robert Sinclair, built by Patterson Custom Homes and finished by Blackband Design.
“The type of buyers that buy these (homes), and the buyer that bought this isn’t going to go through the five-year entitlement process and build a house,” he said. “They’d rather have something turn-key and they’re OK paying for it. That’s why we had more than one offer.”
The towering 14,000-square-foot, five-bedroom house presented as party central in the “Duffy” video stretches across three lots, with 90 feet of bay frontage. It boasts a theater, sauna, solar system with three Tesla batteries, 57-foot-long pool with underwater speakers and a private beach with a dock.
“You can park eight Duffies on the dock just for starters,” goes the song in a viral video that starred Smoove da General and Mr. Swag of Cali Swag District and a variety of young Instagram influencers, models and dancers.
Other highlights include a floating underlit staircase illuminated from above by a large skylight, 16-foot stone fireplace and 1,100-gallon aquarium.
There’s also a five-car garage with EV plug-ins.
“The job of the ‘Duffy’ film was to let everybody in real estate, especially, know about this house,” Smith said. “It did its job and because of that it gave us exposure that we never would have got.”
More than half of the showings, he added, were people from outside of the area and saw the film first.
Tara Foster Shapiro of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer, whom she wouldn’t identify.
But she said, “Their interest in the house stemmed from their admiration in architect Rob Sinclair’s work. That is why we toured the property.”
Photo Credit: Tim Smith, Coldwell Banker
Visitors to Newport Beach today might know the coastal Southern California city from “The Real Housewives,” “The O.C.” and “Arrested Development,” all of which were set amid its rolling green hills and picture-perfect beaches. But I had come to Newport Beach to commune with the stars of Old Hollywood, who began staking their claim to this idyllic spot just one hour south of Los Angeles during the silent film era.
In the Golden Age of Hollywood, Newport Beach’s lure was not so much its land, dotted as it was with big-band ballrooms and smoke-filled cocktail bars. It was its water, and specifically the sprawling recreational harbor where the stars docked their yachts and sailboats.
Continue reading at The New York Times…
Photo Credit: Beth Coller/The New York Times
After taking over management of the moorings from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol last summer, Harbormaster Dennis Durgan provided a “Year in Review” summary for the Newport Beach Harbor Commission on Wednesday.
Commissioners asked a few questions and expressed support for the work the Harbormaster team has done over the past 15 months.
“I think your numbers speak for themselves,” Commissioner John Drayton said. “You’ve really done a fantastic job.”
Among many other reported statistics, between July 1, 2017, and June 30, the Harbormaster team has recorded 2,144 general assists, 962 wake or speed advisements, 662 mooring checks, 253 pier/dock/bridge issues (includes jumping, fishing, time limits, and gangway issues), and 19 emergency calls to either OCSD Harbor Patrol or NB police.
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