2014 Newsletters: What's Happening Southern California Residents Friday, January 17, 2014

Huntington Beach Beaches: I'd like to wish the following people a very Happy Birthday. They are: Long Beach Fifth District City Council Person Gerrie Schipske, McCormick Divers Debby McCormick, Huntington Beach Special Events Director Chris Cole, Huntington Beach Realtor Debbie Neugebauer, A Better View Window Cleaner Corey Goforth, My Friend Tabatha Hasselbrink and Huntington Beach Realtor Robin Gray-Hite. This is a note from Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy's Administrative Assistant Karin Reed: DUI Checkpoint Nets DUI Arrest and 9 Citations for Unlicensed/Suspended Drivers The Huntington Beach Police Department conducted a Sobriety and Drivers License checkpoint on Saturday, January 11, 2014, from 7:30 p.m. to 2:20 a.m. Checkpoints are placed in locations that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence and provide the greatest safety for officers and the public.

Over the past year, there have been 34 alcohol related collisions on Beach Blvd. These resulted in 30 injuries to the vehicles occupants. There have also been 286 citations issued to drivers on Beach for being unlicensed or driving on a suspended/revoked license. Sobriety/Drivers License checkpoints help lower DUI related deaths and injuries. A major component of these checkpoints is the deterrent effect it has on those who might drive drunk and/or drug impaired, unlicensed, or with a suspended/revoked license. Checkpoints help to bring more awareness to motorists and encourage everyone to use sober designated drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies.

Here are some of our statistics from Saturday's checkpoint: 2,134 Vehicles through the checkpoint 1,294 Vehicles screened and given a pamphlet with information about DUI 5 Standardized Field Sobriety Tests administered 1 DUI- Alcohol impaired suspects arrested 8 Drivers cited for operating a vehicle while unlicensed 1 Driver cited for driving on a suspended license 1 Vehicle impounded 6 Citations issued for other Vehicle Code violations

Huntington Beach Police Department will be conducting another Sobriety/Drivers License Checkpoint on February 15, 2014, in our ongoing commitment to lowering deaths and injuries upon our streets and highways. Funding for this checkpoint is provided to the Huntington Beach Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to continue to work together to bring an end to these tragedies. Report Drunk Drivers. Call 911! The Huntington Beach Public Works Department has no new Items of mention.  Tune in to The KTLA Channel 5 Weekend News on Saturdays from 5am to 7am and Sundays from 6am to 9am. Join Chris Burrous, Lu Parker, Liberte Chan and Gayle Anderson's On The Go Segment. This is the best news Show in Southern California.   Here are some Events happening in Your Area:

Saturday: Local Harvest Farmers Market at 16400 Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach from 9am to 2pm. Bring your kids to the petting zoo, ride the ponies, eat fresh foods, shop for crafts and arts. 

Justin Rudd presents his Splash into the New Year at 11am at Rosies Dog Beach in Belmont Shore of Long Beach. Basically for the event, participants run in to the ocean (in swimsuits or costumes; water temp is 59 degrees) at Rosie's Dog Beach after the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup, and Justin Rudd's nonprofit Community Action Team (C.A.T.) donates money to local charities based on the number of people that participate. Cleanup at 10 a.m. and Splash at 11 a.m. Free parking and FREE to enter. Refreshments and Turkey Trot t-shirts for all participants.

Polar "plunges" or "splashes" are worldwide traditions held in the beginning of the New Year. Some feel it's a symbolic time to wash off the things of the past and kick off a new beginning

Sunday:

The 7th Annual Slack Key Festival starts at 2pm at The Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center - 1935 Manhattan Beach Boulevard near Aviation . Played from the heart and soul through the fingers, and flowing with vivid tropical images, Hawaiian ki ho'alu is truly one of the great acoustic guitar traditions in the world. In slack key, some of the strings are slacked from the standard tuning, with the thumb playing the bass while the other fingers play the melody and improvise in a finger-picked style. The Southern California Slack Key Festival features the most respected names in Hawaiian guitar music today in the most prestigious Hawaiian music concert event in the mainland U.S.! 

Wednesday The 22nd The new Sprouts in Huntington Beach opens at 6942 Warner Avenue at 7am! We've got some fun stuff planned for our grand opening: • FREE reusable bag with purchase • Every 15th shopper will receive an exclusive coupon booklet full of Sprouts savings! • Save big with $1 deals throughout the store. 

Friday The 24thMeet Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari Freidenrich and 74th District California State Assemblyman Alan Mansoor at Rodgers Senior Center - 1706 Orange Avenue in Huntington Beach. They'll be attending Craig MacDonald Author/Historians Speech on Terms of The Old West. How they relate to the present at 10:30am. 

I appreciate any comments.

Sincerely, Chris MacDonald Website