Medical pot law faces City Council

Huntington Beach City Councilman Gil Coerper is looking to overturn

the city’s medical marijuana ordinance and will ask the council to

repeal the law at Monday’s council meeting.

Coerper said the March ordinance the council enacted regulating

medical marijuana dispensaries is now moot after the U.S. Supreme

Court ruled in June that the federal government could prosecute

medical marijuana growers and dispensaries.

“We’re going to comply with the federal law,” Coerper said.

The city’s medical marijuana ordinance was enacted on the heels of

an outright 90-day ban on medical pot facilities.

In March, an unidentified group petitioned the Planning Department

for permitting information on constructing a medical marijuana

facility. The city responded with a temporary ban until a permanent

law regulating dispensaries could be put on the books.

Weeks later the City Council had a law on the books that zoned

medical pot facilities the same way it regulates strip clubs.

Dispensaries could only be located in industrial areas; away from

homes and schools and only a few locations in north Huntington Beach

fit the bill.

In May, a group calling itself the AIDS Collective Herb Center

filed for a permit to open a dispensary on Graham Street and sell

marijuana to customers with prescriptions for the pot.

The group was hoping to operate the dispensary under a 1996 voter

proposition legalizing the sale and use of marijuana for medicinal

uses. After its passing, the law came under almost immediate attack

from the U.S. Department of Justice, which argued federal drug laws

superseded state drug laws. The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed

that position in a 6-3 ruling, arguing that the federal agents could

prosecute individuals who cultivate and sell marijuana for medical

purposes.

The ruling prompted the Planning Department to deny a permit to

AIDS Collective Herb Center and Coerper said it’s time for the city

to change its laws to reflect the court ruling.

“If we left it on the books, we would be in violation,” he said.

If the ordinance passes, Coerper said the city would follow

federal law on medical marijuana.

Hall of Fame announces four for its Class of 2005

Huntington Beach’s Surfer Hall of Fame will induct four new

members this year to honor those who have made an impact on the

sport.

Six-time professional world surfing champion Kelly Slater will

serve as master of ceremonies at the July 29 inauguration in front of

Huntington Surf and Sport at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and

Main Street. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m.

The inductees are selected by a committee of business owners,

surfers and surf industry professionals based on contribution,

dedication, and integrity to the sport of surfing.

Quiksilver CEO Bob McKnight is one of this year’s inductees,

honored for his contributions to the surfing community along with his

giant $1-billion Huntington Beach-based action sports company.

Also being honored this year are Australian natives Mark Richards

and Tom Carroll. Richards is the only professional surfer with four

consecutive world titles and now works shaping boards at his family’s

shop in Australia. In 2001, Richards proved he still had what it

takes by winning the World Masters Championship in the over-40

division.

Carroll is a two-time world champion who dominated professional

surfing in the 1980s. Despite a serious injury that resulted in

reconstructive knee surgery, Carroll came back and captured the

coveted title of Pipeline Master. Carroll now has a contract with

sponsor Quiksilver and travels to exotic surf spots with his family.

Renowned shaper Carl Hayward, famed for the 1980s Rocket Fish

surfboard, will be honored posthumously this year. Hayward owned surf

shops in Huntington Beach and coached a Marina surf team before

joining long-time friend Bob Hurley at Hurley International. Hayward

married and fathered three sons before he died while surfing.

“It’s an honor to acknowledge four amazing men who embody the

surfing lifestyle at their core and spread the culture through their

work and existence,” Huntington Surf and Sport founder and owner

Aaron Pai wrote in a recent press release.

Since the Surfers Hall of Fame celebration coincides with

America’s largest professional surfing competition, the Honda U.S.

Open of Surfing Presented by O’Neill, many current generation pros

are expected to attend the induction ceremony including Corky Carroll

and Dave Stanfield. An autograph signing with Slater, Carroll and

Richards will be held inside Huntington Surf and Sport at 7 p.m.

The Surfers Hall of Fame is similar to Hollywood’s Grauman’s

Chinese Theatre -- the inductees put their hands, feet and autograph

in cement to forever mark their place in the surf world, at the heart

of Surf City USA.

The ceremony is open to the public and is free-of-charge.

‘Internet for Grown-ups’ arrives at seniors center

The Michael E. Rodgers Seniors Center is getting older adults and

seniors connected to the Internet with a new computer lab and team of

volunteer teachers.

“Internet for Grownups” is the new class for beginning computer

users who wish to learn how to use e-mail and surf the Web. The

volunteer teachers are retired professionals who have teach computer

basics in a nonthreatening environment.

“My children have been bugging me for years to learn e-mail,” said

Nancy Carter, a student of the class. “This class was wonderful and

did the trick. Now my grandkids are e-mailing me.”

Classes are held on two consecutive weekdays of the student’s

choice: Tuesday and Wednesday, or Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to

2 p.m. and include a free lunch on both days.

Students may sign up for the class as many times as they wish, but

they must pay the $20 fee in advance.

To enroll, stop by the Rodgers Seniors Center front counter. For

more information, call (714) 536-9387.