Around Town: Mayor to appear at H.B. Tomorrow annual meeting
Huntington Beach Tomorrow will have its annual meeting Thursday, when the public can pose questions to Mayor Barbara Delgleize and Huntington Beach police Capt. Russ Reinhart.
The free event will begin at 7 p.m. at the Huntington Beach Central Library, 7111 Talbert Ave.
For more information, visit hbtomorrow.wordpress.com.
Friendship Shelter benefit dinner raises $12,000
The Friendship Shelter in Laguna Beach raised more than $12,000 last month at a dinner presented by Ken and Barbara McMurray, a shelter board member, at Okura Robata Grill & Sushi Bar in Laguna Beach.
The Friendship Shelter operates a facility that provides temporary housing, meals and support services for 32 formerly homeless men and women.
The organization also announced that it received a matching grant from an anonymous donor that will enable it to double all contributions at one of its dinner events up to $100,000.
For more than 20 years, donors have hosted 500 dinners, raising more than $2 million.
For more information, visit friendshipshelter.org. To schedule a dinner, call (949) 494-6928.
SPON starts contest to find ‘spirit’ of Newport Beach
Stop Polluting Our Newport, a Newport Beach-based activist group, has launched a citywide contest that challenges residents to “capture the spirit” of Newport.
Through April 22, contestants can submit a phrase of five words or less, a photograph or a drawing by visiting spiritofnb.org.
“During our various outreach efforts this past year, one thing was amazingly clear and consistent ... everyone has strong feelings about Newport Beach and why they love living here,” SPON said in a statement. “And we were sure there were a lot of people we hadn’t yet heard from who also have a story to tell about their love of Newport Beach.”
The judges are Evelyn Hart, Tom Johnson and Steve Rosansky. Prizes will be gift certificates ranging from $50 to $150.
Yoga class to help raise funds for H.B. beating victim
The Huntington Beach Yoga Collective will host a class March 31 to help raise money for Garret Peterson, who was badly beaten in an altercation outside a downtown restaurant where he works.
The event is slated for 6:30 to 8 p.m. at 301 Main St., Suite 109.
A donation is required to take the class, and all will go toward Peterson’s medical bills and rehabilitation, organizers said.
Expert to speak on birds in Bolsa Chica
The Bolsa Chica Conservancy will present an expert talk about birds of prey in the wetlands from 5 to 6:30 p.m. April 6 at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Interpretive Center, 3842 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach.
For more information or to RSVP, contact Ashley Alonzo at (714) 846-1114 or ashley@bolsachica.org.
Ceremony in H.B. will honor victims of crime
The Huntington Beach Police Department is partnering with the city to hold a ceremony April 6 to honor victims of crimes as part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
The event, which will be led by Police Chief Robert Handy, will begin at 11 a.m. at Pier Plaza, where Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway meet.
Emergency training classes scheduled
The Seal Beach Police Department and the West County Community Emergency Response Team will present free CERT training classes April 7, 8, 14 and 15.
The course is 20 hours and covers disaster preparedness, medical operations, light search and rescue, fire suppression, team organization and disaster psychology, according to a Seal Beach police news release.
The classes will be held at Building 244 of the Joint Forces Training Base, 11200 Lexington Drive, Los Alamitos.
To register, email WestCountyCertAcademy@gmail.com or call (714) 229-6625.
Huntington Beach awards will recognize youths
Nominations of Huntington Beach children in grades 3-12 are being accepted until 4 p.m. April 7 for the annual American Youth Character Awards.
Anyone who is not an immediate family member of the child can submit a nomination form and a brief statement about the nominee as an example of good character.
An awards ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. May 20 at the Bella Terra mall, 7777 Edinger Ave. Honorees will have their names inscribed on a bronze plaque at the Bella Terra Wall of Fame.
The event is sponsored by the Huntington Beach Children’s Needs Task Force. Nomination forms can be downloaded at bit.ly/2neOi8o.
Submissions can be mailed to Charlene Gomez at the Community Services Department, 2000 Main St., Huntington Beach, CA 92648. They also can be emailed to cgomez@surfcity-hb.org.
UCI expands alumni job services program
UC Irvine’s Division of Continuing Education has enhanced its UCI+One program “to prepare recent graduates and alumni for life after graduation,” according to a news release.
The program, called UCI+One Accelerator, is a 30-day format that will offer customized career services, coaching and other special events.
“In today’s workforce, the next step in your career path requires a clear road map to success,” Leigh Poirier, UCI+One program director, said in a statement. “In order to foster students’ success after college, the university continues to extend guidance through programs such as UCI+One Accelerator to reach their career goals as quickly as possible.”
For more information, contact Poirier at (949) 824-3983 or lpoirier@uci.edu.
Denim Dash coming to Newport Dunes resort
The third annual Denim Dash is set for April 13 at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort.
The event, from 5 to 7 p.m., will benefit Global Genes, an Aliso Viejo-based advocacy nonprofit for people with rare diseases.
Denim Dash will include a 5K and an Easter egg hunt. Last year’s event raised more than $65,000.
Newport Dunes is at 1131 Back Bay Drive, Newport Beach.
For more information or to register for Denim Dash, visit globalgenes.org/denimdash.
H.B. to host sandcastle contest on Main Street
Huntington Beach will host a sandcastle contest April 15 on Main Street.
“Sandcastles on Main” will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on the second block of Main Street.
Teams can enter in four categories: business, family, 15 and younger, and 16 and older.
Registration costs $25 per group. There will be prizes for each category.
To register, visit hbdowntown.com/sand-castles-on-main.html.
Vintage VW vans to be showcased at H.B. car show
People can take a ride into the past April 15 when the Kowabunga Van Klan showcases its classic Volkswagen vans at a car show to benefit the International Surfing Museum.
The free event will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Huntington Beach Pier Plaza.
For more information, visit bit.ly/2nk7kKm.
Newport-Mesa accepting applications for specialty elementary programs
Parents interested in enrolling their children in one of the three Newport-Mesa Unified School District specialty elementary programs for the 2017-18 school year can submit an online application by April 15.
The programs offered are a modern scholars program at Adams Elementary School, a Mandarin biliteracy program at College Park Elementary and a Spanish biliteracy program at Whittier Elementary.
Programs are offered to kindergartners and first- and second-graders, regardless of their area of residence. Parents will be notified in May if their students are selected for a program.
To apply, visit the Newport-Mesa website, nmusd-ca.schoolloop.com.
‘Women in the Workplace’ panel coming to Newport Beach
The Urban Land Institute Women’s Leadership Initiative will present “Women in the Workplace: Growing in Every Generation,” a panel of professional women, from 6 to 8 p.m. April 26 at Gensler, 4675 MacArthur Court, Newport Beach.
The speakers will represent several generations and will speak on their experience “in the mostly male-dominated industry of real estate and building,” according to a news release.
For more information and tickets, call (714) 342-2965 or visit orangecounty.uli.org.
Tour de Coop returning to Laguna Beach
Organizers are inviting participants for the fourth annual Tour de Coop in Laguna Beach on April 30.
The free event features homesteading and ecosystem examples in Laguna’s urban environment, such as chicken coops, gardens and graywater systems.
For more information or to participate, email Reem Khalil at refinedbohemian@gmail.com or Meghan Rider at rowe.meghan@gmail.com.