THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: Newport leaders discuss park plans

Newport Beach will develop plans for Sunset Ridge Park, but the city also will try to keep development of Marinapark and Newport Center Park top priorities, the City Council decided Tuesday.

At some point this will get expensive. All three parks are being planned, and building the amenities could cost between $3.75 million at Newport Center and up to $16 million for Marinapark.

The council voted to spend $70,000 to have a consulting firm do public outreach and create a concept for Sunset Ridge Park, but council members opted not to set any of the three parks as a higher priority than the others.

“I think there’s the money to do that because we’re in the planning stages right now,” and several steps need to be taken on each project before construction can begin, City Manager Homer Bludau said.

If pressed, council members likely wouldn’t agree on which of the three parks is most important. Councilman Ed Selich in April urged the council to move ahead with the passive Newport Center Park, while Councilman Don Webb has argued that active parks with sports fields, like Sunset Ridge, should be the highest priority now.

The council may define its park priorities a little more clearly when budget discussions start in June.

BAD DAY FOR HARMAN

Huntington Beach state Sen. Tom Harman struck out twice Wednesday when one of his bills was killed in a committee hearing and another left to languish in the “suspense file,” which means it won’t be voted on anytime soon — if ever.

The Senate’s revenue and taxation committee said no to a bill that would have trimmed the state sales tax off the price of gas, which already is subject to state and federal excise taxes. The committee chairman refused to hold a vote on the bill, according to a statement from Harman’s office.

“California motorists are hit with a federal tax, a state tax and a whole host of fees,” Harman said in the statement. “This blatant example of double taxation is unfair, philosophically unjust and should be stopped.”

The same committee buried a bill that would have allowed small- to midsized businesses and individuals to take a 15% tax credit and put the money in a health savings account.

NEWPORT BEACH HOTEL NAMED SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore named the Newport Beach Hotel the 70th Assembly District’s small business of the year, his office announced last week.

The hotel’s recent major renovation — it was formerly known as the Portofino Hotel — was what led DeVore to recognize the business, he said in a statement. He praised hotel chief executive Adam Abrahms for renovating an old building into a luxury boutique hotel.

“Restoring vitality to this already beautiful area was our pleasure, and receiving this award was an unexpected honor,” Abrahms said in the statement.

REACHING OUT FOR SUPPORT

If you want to rally folks to your cause, you have to reach them, and today’s method of choice is usually the Internet.

New websites have been launched by Newport Beach Golf Course supporters, who hope to block any changes to the use of the county-owned land where the back nine holes are, and Newport Beach residents with concerns about drug and alcohol recovery homes in their neighborhoods.

At the golf course site, www.savenewportbeachgolfcourse.com, you can read about the issue or send an e-mail to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, the Newport Beach City Council or the Daily Pilot about it (you may have to type in www.savenewportbeachgolfcourse.com/email to send an e-mail). Some might be happier not to receive too many letters, however — Newport Beach Mayor Steve Rosansky and Supervisor John Moorlach joked Tuesday about how many they’ve already received.

Newport’s council voted to back the golf course if the county suggests another use for the land, and Moorlach also expressed his support.

The other recently launched site, www.publicvoice.us, was set up by Linda Orozco, a Newport Beach resident who has been interested since 2003 in curbing the number of drug recovery homes in town.

The site explains the problems residents believe the homes have caused and their view of how the city of Newport Beach has failed in addressing the issues.

TOWN HALL MEETING

Newport Beach residents can hear about city issues Saturday at a town hall meeting on Balboa Island hosted by City Councilman Ed Selich. The event will be held from 10:30 a.m. until sometime in the afternoon at the Balboa Island fire station, 124 Marine Ave.