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Around Town: Pulitzer-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen to speak in Newport

Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen will talk about his book “The Sympathizer” at the The Newport Beach Public Library at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen will talk about his book “The Sympathizer” at the The Newport Beach Public Library at 7 p.m. Thursday.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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The Newport Beach Public Library will host Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen at 7 p.m. Thursday at 1000 Avocado Ave.

Nguyen won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for “The Sympathizer,” a novel about a communist spy who infiltrates the South Vietnamese army. Nguyen currently teaches English and American studies and ethnicity at USC.

He will discuss the work and sign books.

Tickets are $30 for the public, $25 for Newport Beach Public Library Foundation members, and $20 for teachers and students.

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For more information, visit nbplfoundation.org.

California Earthquake Authority CEO to speak Thursday

Glenn Pomeroy, chief executive of the California Earthquake Authority, will speak to the Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, 1601 Bayside Drive, Corona del Mar.

The discussion will focus on earthquake risks in the region and new insurance options available to help Californians cover costs for repairs and rebuilding after a damaging earthquake.

California established CEA in 1996 as a not-for-profit, privately funded, publicly managed earthquake insurance provider.

Ocean View holding session for parents of kindergartners

The Ocean View School District will host an information session for parents of kindergartners at 6 p.m. Thursday at Spring View Middle School, 16662 Trudy Lane in Huntington Beach.

The information night will cover the enrollment process and full-day and transitional kindergarten programs, while providing parents a chance to meet representatives from Ocean View schools, including the transportation department.

For more information, visit ovsd.org.

H.B. group receives $379,000 grant to help single-parent families

A Huntington Beach community organization that provides financial support for single-parent families has received a $379,000 grant, the group announced Tuesday in a news release.

The Project Self Sufficiency Foundation, a partner with the city, was awarded the grant from the ECMC Foundation, a Los Angeles-based organization that seeks to improve education among the poor, according to the company website.

The Project Self Sufficiency Foundation has been working since 1985 in Huntington Beach to assist low-income single parents. It helps 50 families a year, but with the new three-year grant expects to be able to serve 75 other households in the nearby communities of Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Santa Ana, the news release said.

For more information, visit pssfoundation.org.

Project Independence receives grant funding

Project Independence, a Costa Mesa-based nonprofit organization that supports people with developmental disabilities, was recently awarded a $175,000 grant from the Weingart Foundation.

Weingart makes grants to humanitarian nonprofit organizations in Southern California.

“Our goals for this generous grant center on staff training, fund development and technology,” Project Independence CEO and President Debra Marsteller said in a statement. “These are all aspects of our organization that will increase our capacity to serve individuals with developmental disabilities through days services, independent living and supported employment.”

Surf City talent competition looking for entries

Registration is open for the third annual Surf City’s Got Talent Competition, which has participants competing for prizes, awards and Surf City Nights performance opportunities.

Anyone who lives in or attends school in Orange County may enter. There are no fees to participate.

The preliminary round will be held Tuesday, and the semifinals and finals will be Feb. 28.

For competition guidelines or registration, visit surfcitynights.com/talent.

Newport symposium on groundwater management will celebrate World Wetlands Day

The Newport Bay Conservancy’s research committee will celebrate World Wetlands Day with a symposium on groundwater management from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Back Bay Science Center, 600 Back Bay Drive, Newport Beach.

World Wetlands Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the intergovernmental Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, according to a news release.

Tickets purchased in advance through eventbrite.com are $15 for the public and $10 for members and students. Tickets are $20 at the door.

For more information, visit newportbay.org.

Newport Dunes to host barbecue competition Saturday

The Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort is hosting a barbecue competition from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Attendees can taste barbecue, beers and wine and vote for their top choices. The event, which benefits various causes, also includes barbecue classes and a kids barbecue competition.

Tickets are $10; children up to age 12 are admitted free. For more information, visit NewportBeachBBQCompetition.com.

Christian communities to pray for human trafficking victims

Vanguard University in Costa Mesa will hold its third annual Pray for Freedom at 3 p.m. Saturday at Newport Mesa Church, 2599 Newport Blvd. in Costa Mesa.

As part of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, Christian community members will pray for victims of labor and sex trafficking during the event.

Speakers at Pray for Freedom will include Sandra Morgan, director of Vanguard’s Global Center for Women and Justice, and Paul Chang, regional advisor of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Seal Beach is getting a new director of public works

Seal Beach has selected Steve Myrter, the current public works director and city engineer for Signal Hill, as its director of the public works department.

Myrter is a registered civil engineer and has 30 years of professional experience in the private and public sectors.

He will succeed Sean Crumby, who was hired to be Long Beach’s city engineer and deputy director of public works in September 2015.

Myrter’s appointment will be effective Jan. 30, according to a news release.

Surf City Marathon to be held on Super Bowl Sunday

Huntington Beach will host the annual Surf City Marathon on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5.

The marathon starts at 6:30 a.m. at the Huntington Beach Pier. The course then winds through Central Park and Bolsa Chica State Beach.

An exhibition featuring local health-related vendors will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. Feb. 3 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 4 in the parking lot at 21291 Pacific Coast Hwy.

People can purchase a full-marathon ticket for $149 or a half-marathon ticket for $139 at runsurfcity.com.

H.B. Central Library to host L.A. Opera talks

The Huntington Beach Central Library will host three public presentations from a Los Angeles Opera representative over the next three months.

The first event will be held at 10 a.m. Feb. 11 and will feature a discussion of the play “Salome,” about a princess falling in love with her father’s prisoner.

The next two events will be held at 10 a.m. March 11 and 10 a.m. April 8. All are free.

At each program, an L.A. Opera community educator will be present to field questions from the audience.

Each play that is discussed will be performed by the L.A. Opera during its spring season.

Environmental Nature Center stream, pond being restored

The Environmental Nature Center’s stream and pond are getting a makeover, according to a news release.

The Newport Beach facility’s 300-foot stream and pond were built in 1972 and haven’t been renovated since.

The stream will be resurfaced and a new irrigation system installed. The stream is often used by students to learn how to test water nitrogen and pH levels, as well as water temperature, clarity and salinity.

The effort was aided by a $50,000 donation from Frank Randall. Those funds will also help develop a butterfly habitat observation deck and desert tortoise enclosure and restore teaching stations.

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