Residents rally support for troops

A group of Huntington Beach residents will rally behind the troops at

a yellow ribbon-making party in Huntington Beach this evening.

The event was scheduled to accommodate the increasing demand for

yellow ribbons since the California Young Americans for Freedom

launched an online campaign to distribute the ribbons and “support

our troops” bumper stickers.

The site received tens of thousands of hits the first weekend, and

orders were placed for more than 15,000 ribbons and stickers.

The California Young Americans for Freedom, which was founded in

1960 by William F. Buckley Jr., has about 250 members from Orange

County.

The group is dedicated to supporting the troops and their family

members, project coordinator Brad White said.

“Somebody had to do it, especially after 9/11,” White said.

“Troops that are deployed all over the world need a unifying symbol

that says regardless of what you think about the war, you support the

soldiers.”

White said they won’t stop until ribbons are on every house and

every car.

“Until you come home, we will be praying for you, we’re here for

you, we support you. That’s what they mean,” White said.

Chad Morgan, the group’s state chairman also said he wants the

ribbons to be as visible as possible so that they can be seen as

tokens of support.

Through its Web site, the group is instructing visitors in other

states how they can start their own organizations, White said.

The party will be held at the Old World Huntington Beach

restaurant, 7561 Center Ave., No. 49, which can accommodate 250

people.

For more information, contact Chad Morgan at (714) 658-2190 or

Brad White at 714-454-1150, or visit www.YellowRibbonAmerica.com.

State looks at how to spend funds

State lawmakers and coastal advocates met in Sacramento yesterday

to discuss how to spend bond money earmarked for open spaces, parks

and waterways along the California coastline.

The breakfast forum kicked off a two-day conference titled

“Coastal Ecotourism: A Reliable Revenue Stream for California.”

At the meeting were senators, Assembly members, county supervisors

and City Council members. Councilwoman Debbie Cook and Shirley

Detloff, former councilwoman and coastal commissioner, attended the

meeting.

“It had a couple of purposes,” said Steve Aceti, executive

director of the California Coastal Coalition. “To educate the

legislative staff as to needs along the coast and to get people

together who are interested in these projects to strategize and

discuss where we’re going.”

The meeting focused on coastal projects that are on the “to do”

list now and future projects that are in need of funding, Aceti said.

Proposition 50, which provides funding for restoring, purchasing

and protecting wetlands in Huntington Beach, was one of the bonds

addressed at the meeting.

The event was jointly sponsored by Cal Coast, a nonprofit

organization made up of 35 coastal cities, and the Southern

California Wetlands Recovery Project.

Storm-damaged pump station repaired

The Slater pump station is back in service after 3 1/2 days of

work, which included installing a 12,000-pound engine.

The engine suffered damage after the rainstorm on Saturday. The

water division crew pulled the engine, cooling system and

clutch/drive assembly Monday and began installing a spare engine,

salvaged from the Overmeyer Reservoir Project on Tuesday. The size of

the engine made it a difficult task, city officials said.

Volunteers clean up Bartlett Park

Volunteers cleaned up more than 1 1/2 tons of waste and debris

from Bartlett Park after the heavy rainstorms.

The 30 volunteers from the Huntington Beach Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter-day Saints worked for three hours on Wednesday, March 12,

to clear debris, litter and illegal structures from the 30-acre park

on Coldwater Lane.

Gloves, trash bags and rental bins were funded by a grant from the

recycling division of the Department of Conservation. The Parks,

Trees and Landscapes Division of the Department of Public Works

oversaw the project.