It’s party time in Newport
When David McGill looked out his house on the morning of Independence Day, he saw nothing but sunny skies.
The deputy chief of the Newport Beach Police Department immediately knew that it was going to be a busy day.
The holiday, which fell on Friday this year, was already looking to be an eventful one for the department. The warm weather helped ensure that he’d be seeing a good amount of problem activity and safety concerns.
“I initially thought, ‘Oh great,’” he recalled with a laugh. “But it’s a beautiful day. People will have fun.”
The last time Independence Day fell on a Friday was in 2008. That year, Newport police made 150 arrests in 24 hours. The majority of arrests on the holiday are related to public intoxication, said Police Chief Jay Johnson.
“There are lots of good folks out there today,” Johnson said to his team of officers during a 10 a.m. briefing Friday. “There’s a few donkeys out there too, of course.”
By late morning, McGill was already making his way to what he calls “the danger zone,” the area more commonly known as the upper Balboa Peninsula, or to some young people, the place to party on July 4th.
People from near and far had already set up camp at the city’s beaches, spreading out towels and picnics to soak up summer rays next to picturesque ocean views. The row of American flags that lined the bridge above West Coast Highway welcomed visitors onto the upper peninsula.
Parents pulled their kids in festively decorated wagons, and families in patriotic T-shirts and hats skipped down the streets as residents looked on.
But it wasn’t the families that McGill worried about.
House parties along the upper peninsula were already in full swing by mid-morning. Young people clad in various patriotic attire made their way to rooftop balconies to take in the views along West Balboa Boulevard.
Some jokingly shouted at people walking along the street, while others drank beer and relaxed with friends.
This was the first Independence Day that the Newport Beach Police Department’s command post wasn’t located on the peninsula. In past years, officers utilized the old City Hall building on the holiday to keep an eye on the area.
This year, all operations were moved to the police station on Santa Barbara Drive, but that didn’t mean there were any fewer eyes on the streets.
Throughout the day, all of the Police Department’s 141 sworn officers served shifts. Some patrolled the city as usual, but most focused on the upper peninsula, where a safety enhancement zone was established, police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said.
The zone, running from 32nd Street to 54th Street and encompassing portions of West Coast Highway and Newport Boulevard, was established to support the department’s recent efforts to tone down the party atmosphere of the peninsula.
Officers from Irvine and Anaheim and personnel from the California Highway Patrol and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department also assisted Newport’s efforts to keep the partying under control, Manzella said.
During the Friday morning briefing, officers were encouraged to enforce the city’s ordinance pertaining to loud and unruly gatherings. People hosting unruly parties would be slapped with a $1,500 citation.
Technically, police could cite every person at a party if necessary, Manzella said.
“Even people in the throes of a fantastic party know what a $1,500 citation looks like,” she said.
By the afternoon, parking was so limited near the beach that business owners began renting out spaces, some at $80 per car.
Tina Lipkowski and Shannon Wadsworth, residents of the lower end of the peninsula, watched the neighborhood parade from a patio Friday morning.
“We’re in lockdown mode,” Lipkowski said. “Everyone who lives down here knows to get their grocery shopping done days before the holiday because they won’t be able to leave the house until Monday.”
However, the de facto house arrest doesn’t bother Lipkowski.
“It’s a way of life,” she said. “Where else would we need to go?”