Memorial plaque unveiled at Marina Park to honor Huntington Beach police officer Nicholas Vella, killed in a helicopter crash
February 19, 2023
Source: ABC 7 Eyewitness News
City leaders gathered at Marina Park on Sunday to remember the first anniversary of the death of Huntington Beach Police Officer Nick Vella off the Lido Peninsula.
“The city of Newport Beach is honored to celebrate the life and sacrifice of Officer Pilot Vella. His bravery and valor shall be remembered forever.” – Newport Beach Mayor Noah Blom
Officer Vella is survived by his wife Kristi, daughter Dylan, father John, mother Marcella, and brother John Arthur.
By Devon Warren
Inventor of the electric Duffy boat addresses his plans to improve the Newport Beach Harbor as city’s new mayor.
NEWPORT BEACH — In the efforts to track down Marshall “Duffy” Duffield, the new mayor of Newport Beach, it seemed quite ominous his reply to an email correspondence about scheduling an interview stated, “I’m around,” with his phone number attached.
The Duffy name is certainly “around” in many corners of Newport Beach Harbor, as it’s literally everywhere you turn – in the form of a “Duffy” electric boat.
As a long-time Newport Beach resident (more than 50 years) and the inventor of the electric boat bearing his name, many of us would consider Duffield the quintessential image of the dreamy Southern California yachting life.
A car insurance agent once told me we pay such catastrophic prices because “it’s a privilege to live” in Southern California. In a lot of ways, Duffield has taken such privilege and created an empire from it – him, and most other residents of California’s coast, live in a Technicolor world of scenic beauty that others across the country may never see in their lifetimes.
The mooring management and harbor operations shift from Orange County Sheriff’s Department to the city of Newport Beach has been a fairly smooth transition as Harbormaster Dennis Durgan assumes his role.
Durgan took over the responsibility of overseeing more than 1,200 moorings from the Sheriff Department’s Harbor Patrol Division in July, with Newport Beach hiring 13 part-time harbor workers and obtaining two additional vessels.
The amount of foot traffic coming into Marina Park, where Durgan’s office is located, after the operational shift in management was unexpected.
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Photo Credit: Nina K. Jussila/The Log
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